How Howie Roseman Turned Two Mid-First-Round Picks Into AJ Brown, Jalen Carter, and Cooper DeJean

Howie Roseman has made plenty of moves during his tenure as Eagles GM. Some brilliant, some questionable, and one — the Jalen Reagor pick — that may have accidentally turned him into the best talent evaluator in the NFL. But of everything Roseman has engineered, one trade stands above the rest as the defining transaction of the current Eagles era.

The 2022 Saints Trade: A Masterclass in Asset Management

In the 2022 draft, the Eagles held picks 16 and 19 in the first round. Instead of making two selections, Roseman traded both picks — plus a sixth-round selection — to the New Orleans Saints. In return, the Eagles received the 18th overall pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick. They moved down two spots in the draft and extracted two future premium selections for the privilege.

Here's what those assets became. With pick 18, the Eagles selected Jordan Davis — but the real magic happened with the future capital. The 18th pick also created draft ammunition that was rerouted in the AJ Brown trade with Tennessee. The 2023 first-round pick from the Saints became Jalen Carter at ninth overall. The 2024 second-round pick became Cooper DeJean at 40th overall. Two mid-first-round picks turned into three franchise players.

Tennessee Never Knew What They Had

The AJ Brown acquisition deserves its own paragraph in Roseman's biography. In Tennessee, Brown's numbers were modest by his standards — 52 catches for 1,000 yards in a run-heavy scheme with Ryan Tannehill. Three years, never more than 70 receptions, never more than 1,100 yards. The Eagles saw what the Titans didn't: a receiver whose volume was being artificially suppressed by scheme and quarterback play. When they increased his target share to 145 per season, Brown exploded — 88 catches for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns in year one, 106 for 1,456 and 7 touchdowns in year two.

It's the same playbook Roseman used with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson from the Saints and Zach Baun from the Saints. Identify players whose talent exceeds their utilization in their current system, acquire them at a discount, and unlock their potential in Philadelphia. It's brilliant scouting — and it's repeatable.

The Full Carson Wentz Trade Tree

Zoom out further and the scope becomes staggering. The Carson Wentz trade to Indianapolis generated picks that — through subsequent trades and selections — contributed to the acquisition of DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown, Jalen Carter, Cooper DeJean, Jalen Hurts' extension leverage, and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. That's not a trade tree. That's a trade forest. And at the center of it sits a general manager whose worst draft mistake — Jalen Reagor in 2020 — may have been the wake-up call that transformed his entire approach to talent evaluation.