Eagles GM Howie Roseman: NFL Draft 'Is a Huge Game of Poker. ... It's All a Guess'

There is no bigger gamble in the NFL than the draft.

With the 2023 edition less than a week away, few people know that better than Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, one of the longest-tenured executives in the league.

And with all of the smoke screens going around the NFL, he and his staff are looking for every possible advantage they can get leading up to the big night next Thursday.

"This is a huge game of poker," Roseman said this week while talking to the media. "And all you want to affect is the outcome of your desired results. Am I going to give you guys any answers today? No. Not even a little bit. But I think the reality of it is anyone who is sitting there and saying, 'Hey, I know exactly what is going to happen at pick 11 or pick 12 or pick 6 or 20,' it's all a guess."

The Eagles have the Nos. 10 and 30 picks in the first round. This year's class has four highly rated quarterbacks who are likely to create plenty of chaos in the top 10, which may be a great thing for Roseman.

Coming off a season in which they reached the Super Bowl, the Eagles have the ability to take a swing with that No. 10 pick and gamble on an elite talent like running back Bijan Robinson, considered by some as the best player in the entire draft.

They can also snag a great defensive player who may fall to them thanks to the quarterback frenzy in the previous picks.

Roseman is ready for any type of scenario that comes his way.

"I think the most important thing when you're picking in the first round, and certainly when you're picking 10, is that you get a unique player for our team," Roseman said. "We understand how important it is to get this right, and how do you get it right? You get a unique player.

"I think if you start saying, 'Hey, we can get a unique player, but it's got to be this position,' then you really narrow your options right there."

With it likely being a quarterback-heavy first round, Philadelphia may also be in a position to trade down if it gets the right haul in return. Roseman has never been one to shy away from making those types of moves.

In the B/R NFL Scouting Department's most recent mock draft, the Eagles were projected to take Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness at No. 10 and Florida offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence with the 30th pick.

Since becoming general manager in 2010, Roseman has had a fairly successful record when it comes to his first-round draft choices. He's responsible for bringing in franchise cornerstones like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith.