The Eagles on Thursday morning traded for star cornerback Darius Slay and they didn’t have to give up either of their top two picks to do it. And the Eagles still have eight selections in the 2020 draft.
In order to get Slay, the Eagles traded third- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft.
According to a league source, the picks they traded were their regular draft picks. So the Eagles gave up the No. 85 pick and the No. 166 pick to get Slay.
A couple years ago, rules were changed to allow teams to trade compensatory picks but that isn’t what happened here.
So here’s an updated look at the Eagles’ picks in next month’s draft:
Round 1: No. 21
Round 2: No. 53
NFL
Round 3: No. 85
Round 3: No. 103 (compensatory)
Round 4: No. 127
Round 4: No. 145 (compensatory)
Round 4: No. 146 (compensatory)
Round 5: 166
Round 5: 168 (via Patriots for Michael Bennett)
Round 6: 190 (via Falcons in Johnathan Cyprien/Duke Riley trade)
With eight picks, the Eagles still have some ammo if they want to pull off draft-day trades. But in each of the last two seasons, the Eagles have drafted just five players. So Howie Roseman was looking forward to replenishing his roster with many young players. They can still do that with eight picks.
While the Eagles gave up two picks to get Slay, it seems likely that had they signed Byron Jones in free agency — something they were interested in doing — that move probably would have canceled out a future high-level compensatory pick but for the next draft. So if you’re feeling the sting of getting rid of draft picks, that might alleviate some of it.
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