Eagles GM Howie Rosman was part of one of the more memorable encounters of the 2021 NFL Draft when he shared a strange fist bump with player personnel director Tom Donahoe. After the Eagles selected Milton Williams with the 73rd pick in the draft, Rogman scored goals in the Eagles draft room, celebrating the pick with his constituents. However, when he went to Donahoe, the personnel man did not appear happy, and this created an uncomfortable, tense moment.
As the moment was seen by more and more people, it led him to question whether everything was alright between Rosman and Donahoe. In a recent interview, Roseman cleared the air and dismissed the notion of any problem between him and Donohoe. In fact, he clearly explained why Donahoe was probably not as happy as some of those who were in the room when the team selected Milne Williams.
“When we are 71 years old, we have two people standing by us. Two defensive linemen, ”said Rosman An interview on 94WIP. “And they have different tastes. One is a three technique, one is more of a nose tackle. Obviously, when you have different tastes, everyone likes different tastes. So, Carolina calls and they are picking up two picks behind us and Scott Fitter says, ‘Hey Howie, you want to drop two picks for our top of the sixth round pick?’ I said, ‘You tell me, crime or defense? He says, “I’m taking an aggressive player.”
“So we know that we are one of these two people and when we talk to our coaches about their fit and their role, they are excited about two people. And so, one of them goes, and we take on Milton Williams. “
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What ended was NC State defensive tackle Aleem McNeill, as the Lions picked him up with the 72nd pick. One might assume that Donahoe was in the camp that favored McNeill, to explain why he might be upset, as the Eagles had a chance to pick him up, but instead traded down.
That said, Rosman was not too worried about the relationship between him and Donahoe after the pick. It helped his cause that the team got DT Marlon Tuiplotu with a sixth-round extra pick that was picked up in trade with the Panthers, as Tulipotu was viewed by the team as a potential Day 2 pick. In addition, he needs to be tackled with the nose that McNeill will be full.
One reason that this conversation has attracted so much attention on social media is that there were very recent rumors about Rosman that there is excessive control in the draft room. They stem from the mid-April story Athletic Extending the Eagles’ rapid decline after their 2018 Super Bowl win, Doug Pederson’s firing and departure of quarterback Carson Wentz culminated after a horrific 4-7-1 season. That piece alleged that the Eagles’ first three pictures in the 2020 NFL Draft – WR Jalan Reagor, QB Jalan Hurts and LB Davian Taylor – were “seeing some scouts and trainers at home.”
But in this case, it does not appear to be a case of the Eagles being on separate pages of the front office and coaching staff. It is only about the differences between the two long-time scouts.
And for Rosman, it’s completely normal to watch on draft day.
“Discussions and debates and these conversations happen, that’s fine. Rather you will have that passion, ”said Rosman. “Tom has been here for a long time. We stayed together for 10 years, a very close relationship. It’s okay to have tough conversations, and Tom and I have done a lot of them in 10 years. “
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