In Eagles' draft, it's Roseman's show, but he has help

PHILADELPHIA – The dynamic between Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas will go a long way toward determining whether the Eagles will succeed in the draft this coming weekend as they go about building the team around quarterback Carson Wentz.

Sure, it’s still Roseman’s show. The Eagles executive vice president for football operations will have final say over the team’s selections. But this year, Roseman will rely on Douglas, the Eagles’ vice president of player personnel, who is in charge of ranking and evaluating players that the Eagles might end up drafting.

For Roseman, it’s much different than the previous years when he was the general manager from 2010-14, then banished to the financial side for the 2015 draft run by former coach Chip Kelly. For the first three years, former coach Andy Reid had final say. For the next three years, it was clear that Roseman and Kelly didn't see eye to eye as Roseman was banished to the financial side in 2015. Last year, Roseman was put back in charge after Kelly's firing, but without a bona-fide personnel director to assist him.

Douglas, 43, was hired last May after working his way up through the Baltimore Ravens’ scouting department from 2000-15, during which time Baltimore won two Super Bowls, then going to the Chicago Bears for the 2016 draft, when they took running back Jordan Howard in the fifth round. Howard was second in the NFL in rushing with 1,313 yards as a rookie.

So Douglas has experience and a track record. And he will have a large role in the Eagles’ picks in the draft that begins with the first round on Thursday. It's a critical draft for the Eagles, who have the 14th pick in the first round. They need a cornerback, running back, wide receiver and defensive end.

They could be deciding among Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley (a rape accusation revealed Wednesday, however, could change that), Washington wide receiver John Ross, Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, and Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett, or some other player with the first-round pick.

“For me, personally, being able to learn about his experiences, what he’s been through, the success he has had — I mean, he’s won two world championships,” Roseman said about Douglas. “He has been a part of that. We have been to five [conference] championship games and we haven’t won a world championship.

“Since he has been here, have we done everything I’ve wanted to do? No. Have we done everything he wants to do? No. But we have done everything right for the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Roseman has never had that relationship before in the front office. When Reid was fired following the 2012 season, owner Jeffrey Lurie absolved Roseman from blame for the 2010 and 2011 drafts that yielded busts like first-round pick Danny Watkins, second-round pick Jaiquawn Jarrett and third-round pick Curtis Marsh in 2011; and second-round pick Nate Allen and third-round pick Daniel Te’o-Nesheim in 2010.

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Lurie, however, praised Roseman for the 2012 draft that yielded starters like first-round pick Fletcher Cox, second-round pick Mychal Kendricks and third-round pick Nick Foles (he’s now the Eagles’ backup quarterback).

But the next three seasons, Roseman was never really in charge. That's because Kelly had certain specifications for draft picks that could be seen as unconventional. The Eagles, however, did well in the 2013 draft with Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz and Bennie Logan as the first three picks.

Roseman and Kelly weren’t nearly as good the next year with Marcus Smith as the first-round pick. Roseman, upon his reinstatement in 2016, said he was responsible for the Smith pick. After Jordan Matthews in the second round, the Eagles went with two Oregon products in two of the next three rounds, a clear sign of Kelly’s influence since he had coached there. Neither wide receiver Josh Huff (released last fall) nor defensive lineman Taylor Hart (now an offensive lineman) has had an impact.

Then came 2015, when Kelly ran the draft and the Eagles missed with first-round pick Nelson Agholor, second-round pick Eric Rowe (traded to New England) and sixth-round picks in cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd and Randall Evans (both released). The only pick from that draft who is a legitimate starter is third-round linebacker Jordan Hicks.

“When I look back, when I had that time off, I was a young guy who had a lot of responsibility,” said Roseman, 42. “Sometimes when you do that, you want to take more on your plate, and you want to feel like I want to make these decisions because this is the role. But it’s all about collaborating and getting people’s point of view and trying to make the best decision for the team.

“It’s not, ‘I want to draft this guy, so this is what we’re doing, and I don’t care what these seven people have to say.’ I think that you get that perspective when you take a step back, and you sit there and say, ‘What could I have done better?’”

Ultimately, Roseman will be judged on that. Roseman already made his mark in last year’s draft, beginning with sending five draft picks to Cleveland to move up from No. 8 to No. 2 to select Wentz.

That, however, left the Eagles without a second-round pick and without a fourth-round pick. Still, the Eagles emerged from that draft with their franchise quarterback in Wentz, a likely starter on the offensive line in third-round pick Isaac Seumalo, at least a rotational running back in fifth-round pick Wendell Smallwood, and a possible starting cornerback in seventh-round pick Jalen Mills.

Now, it’s up to Roseman and Douglas to build around Wentz in this draft. Their futures could depend on it.

“We play off each other’s strengths,” Roseman said. “That doesn’t mean there haven’t been times where he turns to me and goes, ‘Howie.’ That will continue to happen, but it’s been fun. At the end of the day, we’re also very excited about [the draft] and the opportunities to improve the team.”

Added Douglas: “It doesn’t matter who’s right. It just matters that we’re right.”

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.