In the 2012 draft, the Eagles had their eye on defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. The night prior to the draft, the Eagles agreed to a deal with the Seahawks that would move them from No. 15 to No. 12, provided that one of the players on their short wish list was still available. Cox fell to No. 12, the two teams made the trade, and the Eagles were ready to announce their pick. However, when the Eagles were on the clock, they received a tempting trade proposal which would have netted them a future first-round pick in exchange for moving back, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Eagles, of course, declined. 
“If he was [what the Eagles thought], how would we get that guy again?” Eagles exec Howie Roseman said. “And all around the room, everyone agreed that to get a 6-4, 310-pound guy, 35-inch arms, powerful, athletic, great character, we’d have to pick in the Top-5 — 21 years old. For us, even if that future one was a 12 or 13 or 14, we thought it was a unique opportunity that we were able to get that kind of guy, so we just kind of made the pick.”
In theory, the Eagles could have grabbed a player like Sheldon Richardson, Star Lotulelei, or Kenny Vaccaro in the following year, but there’s no way of knowing what they would have done in that scenario. In any event, the Eagles are thrilled with how things turned out and earlier this month they locked up their star defensive tackle on a massive deal through the 2022 season.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- If rookie Jerell Adams shows that he can adjust to the speed of the NFL, he will allow the Giants to carry only three full-time tight ends, James Kratch of NJ.com writes. However, if he looks to be more of a project player, the Giants may have to carry a fourth tight end. As Roster Resource shows, the Giants’ depth chart at TE is headlined by Larry Donnell and Will Tye with Adams, Matt LaCosse, and UDFA Ryan Malleck also on the 90-man.
- Many expected the Redskins to make a significant splash on the defensive line this offseason but that didn’t materialize as the team applied its resources elsewhere. Now, as the Redskins enter 2016 without vets Jason Hatcher and Terrance Knighton, the team is banking on consistency from its returning D-linemen, Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post writes.
- Left tackle Takoby Cofield finds himself on the Redskins‘ roster bubble and Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes that he could be ready to challenge for a spot on the active roster. Cofield joined the Redskins as a UDFA in 2015 and spent the year on the taxi squad.
- Cowboys free agent Greg Hardy may be trying to clean up his public persona by making changes to his social media.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And Johnson from Pittsburgh may be there best player…… He can do everything ….. He can block
Richardson/Lotulelei/Vaccaro were not in the same draft as Cox. Cox was drafted in 2012. Those three were drafted in 2013. If they “stood pat” at 15 in 2002, they would have missed on Cox, Poe, and Brockers. WR was a need as well, but they would have missed on Floyd also. Hindsight would say the pick should be Harrison Smith or maybe Chandler Jones (based on the guys actually taken in the first round). But realistically the pick would have been Quinton Coples or Melvin Ingram,
I think they made the right decision
Richardson/Lotulelei/Vaccaro weren’t in the same draft as Cox yes. The article clearly states that is the case, the author is referring the the pick they would garner for 2013 had they traded back in 2012.