Over time, the NFL Draft serves as a showcase of how sharp folks can overcome obstacles to succeed.
Two gold-finders to watch April 24-26 are Howie Roseman of the Eagles and Andy Reid of the Chiefs, whose teams have met in two of the past three Super Bowls.
Roseman and Reid, defying a draft order that punishes winners, have found good or great players at a high rate.
How do they do it?
1. Medical bargains
Guards Landon Dickerson (Eagles) and Trey Smith (Chiefs) have become sturdy NFL stars and Super Bowl winners since medical issues discounted their draft stock in 2021.
Look at Dickerson’s scary medical profile, courtesy of NFL-connected Bob McGinn of GoLongTD.com: “Right ACL, right ankle surgery, left ankle surgery, left ACL. All three of his seasons at Florida State were cut short, as was the last of his two for the Crimson Tide.”
Dickerson has been a rock for the Eagles, starting 71 games over four years. Roseman, convinced it’ll continue, last month made Dickerson the NFL’s highest-paid guard, guaranteeing him $50 million. Drafted 37th, Dickerson should’ve gone sooner. Also, he’s a capable center.
The Eagles’ sports science expertise, said former team CEO Joe Banner, has contributed to both massive health windfalls and Philadelphia reaching three of the past eight Super Bowls.
The Chiefs’ Reid and protégé Brett Veach, who were Eagles colleagues, got Smith in the sixth round of the same draft. Blood clots in the lungs, diagnosed three years earlier, had sidelined the Tennessee star for five games in 2018 and restricted him in practices in 2019 and 2020.
Smith has been ultra-sturdy with Kansas City, averaging 20 NFL starts across the four years. Only 25, Smith still has Reid’s faith. Last month, the Chiefs traded guard Joe Thuney and tagged Smith, guaranteeing him $23.4 million for the 2025 season.
2. Finding football players
Some players with rare football instincts get snubbed for lacking a singular positional niche. Take Cooper DeJean, for example. Roseman traded up to get the versatile Iowa star 40th last April and was rewarded with a great rookie year that DeJean capped with a spectacular pick-six touchdown in the Super Bowl rout of the Chiefs.
Other teams passed on DeJean due to uncertainty about his positional fit when they should’ve appreciated him as a savvy, phsyical footballer who could make plays at cornerback, safety, slot corner and dime linebacker.
Daniel Jeremiah, who gave DeJean a first-round grade, still seemed miffed last month that so many teams doubted him.
“The league collectively blew it on Cooper DeJean and let him fall to the second round. Is this going to happen again?” said the NFL Network draft analyst and former Eagles scout in arguing that Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron should go on draft night April 24.
DeJean, who turned 22 on the day of Super Bowl 59, seems headed to a great career.
Reid and Veach didn’t get a platinum-level steal in Trent McDuffie, taken 22nd in 2022. But his football smarts and toughness have enabled the All-Pro cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion to outperform projections influenced heavily by his smallish frame.
3. Taking character risks
Like it or not, Roseman and Reid have hit home runs by drafting players who raised major character concerns.
Roseman’s selection of uber-talented defensive tackle Jalen Carter ninth overall two Aprils ago was made possible by other teams’ concerns over Carter’s actions relating indirectly to a tragic auto accident four months earlier. Also, his football character drew criticism.
Three months ago, Carter was pivotal to Philadelphia holding off the Rams in the NFC Super Bowl qualifier. Already, he’s a game-wrecking, high-volume defender. Carter’s talent wasn’t in dispute; NFL scouts often described him as the best player in his draft class. Roseman had obtained the 10th pick via shrewd trades, then traded up one spot to get Carter.
The returns the Chiefs got from fifth-round choice Tyreek Hill are difficult to overstate. The receiver-returner’s football explosiveness is stunning. But Hill was only available so late in the draft because in college he pleaded guilty to domestic violence against his girlfriend, now his wife. Oklahoma State expelled Hill, and the NFL banned him from its scouting combine.
Both the Chiefs and the Eagles say they’ve evolved a top-tier culture that, they contend, improves the chances that higher-maintenance players will succeed on and off the field.
Seeing NFL football character in ultra-talented Mississippi State defensive lineman Chris Jones, Reid and John Dorsey didn’t buy that his uneven film was a red flag and took him in the second round .
“I’m a flamboyant personality. I’m a cheerful guy. Sky’s the limit,” Jones said entering the 2016 draft. Proving he was a better NFL prospect than end Joey Bosa, who went third overall in the final San Diego Chargers draft, Jones has helped K.C. win three Super Bowls. He has a knack for excelling in big moments.
Reid’s brilliant trade for Patrick Mahomes stands in a class of its own, but whatever the back stories to their methods, it’s clear that Roseman and Reid-Veach understand the draft-and-development game at a high level.
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