Many Eagles fans tend to grumble when the Birds trade out of their draft slots instead of selecting the best available player currently on the board but Peter King spends the majority of his Monday Morning Quarterback column today praising the Eagles front office for coming away from the 2009 draft with a pirate's booty.
What would you think if I told you the Philadelphia Eagles got third-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round draft choices, plus half a starting cornerback for nothing in this year's draft?
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That's right. For free. There are no smoke, mirrors or cheating involved. Only thought and effort.
He then goes into many of the specifics of each trade, noting who was still on the board at the time and who the Eagles were targeting. There are a number of interesting quotes from Tom Heckert which gives some insight into the Birds philosophy in general and in this draft specifically. They clearly knew that they had more picks this year than roster spots so they came in knowing they'd like to make some trades to add some picks in 2010. The only thing you question about Heckert and this philosophy is his openness to talk about it, tipping their hand in the future so to speak.
King says the Eagles' wheeling and dealing was "the most underrated and unknown story of draft weekend." Perhaps to those not following Andy Reid's every move for the past 10 years.
>>Eagles put on a draft clinic [SI.com]