Eagles, Chargers nearly had a deal for the No. 22 pick
The Eagles ultimately moved up one spot in round one — from No. 32 to No. 31 — to get Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
The Eagles ultimately moved up one spot in round one — from No. 32 to No. 31 — to get Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
The effort started at least nine picks earlier than that.
Per multiple sources, the Eagles attempted to trade up to No. 22 with the Chargers in an effort to land Campbell.
As one source explained it, the Chargers were talking to multiple teams while on the clock, including the Eagles. When a deal wasn't finalized, the Chargers took their guy: North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton.
Some believe it was much closer than that. That a deal was done but that there was an issue in the communication of it to the league. And, as we've learned in the past, both teams must independently communicate to the NFL the terms of the deal before a trade becomes official. If there's any discrepancy in the terms supplied by the teams, there's no deal.
In this case, both teams did not communicate the terms to the league before the ticking clock forced the Chargers to make a pick.
The Eagles apparently wanted to get Campbell at No. 22. After round one, G.M. Howie Roseman admitted that the Eagles had tried to move higher than No. 31 to get Campbell.
"Again, this was a top-10 player on our board," Roseman told reporters. "We do not have any long-term concerns with his health. We look at the draft as a long-term opportunity for our team. We have a lot of confidence this guy's going to be here and play at a really high level for a long time. When you're in a draft and you're picking at the end of the first round, you don't have an opportunity to get a top-10 player on your board. A guy who can affect the quarterback, a guy who can affect the passing game. For us, it was a no brainer. Local kid, great character. So we were really excited to add him."
They nearly added him nine picks earlier than where they got him — for more than the fifth-round pick they sent to the Chiefs for a one-spot climb. And the Eagles have to separately be very excited about that.
