The Philadelphia Eagles moved from the No. 12 pick to No. 10 in a trade with the rival Dallas Cowboys and selected Alabama receiver and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith on Thursday night in the 2021 NFL draft.
Thwarted in their bids to take a cornerback, the Cowboys traded their 10th pick and got back the 12th pick as well as the Eagles' third-round pick. The Cowboys were high on cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain, who went to Carolina and Denver at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively.
Dallas selected Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons with the 12th pick.
"Really excited to get DeVonta Smith," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. "He was really highly rated on our board, someone who we feel like is not only a great player but a great person and will come in and be ready to roll. We talked about it through this draft process, about getting guys in here who could help us build the type of culture we want. We had a plan that we talked about, and we had a list of guys that we were really targeting in this draft. And with the amount of picks that we had, the flexibility we had because of the picks, we felt like it was important to get one of those guys, and that's why we made the trade up to go get him."
Smith said he'll be ready to prove the Eagles made the right move trading up for him.
"Them moving up means that they see something in me that they want, and I'm excited for it," he said. "They're getting a guy who's going to come in everyday and work hard, and I'm ready."
Smith led the NCAA in receptions (117), receiving yards (1,856) and receiving TDs (23) en route to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2020. Still, he was the third receiver selected in the draft behind LSU's Ja'Marr Chase and Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle due in part to concerns over his weight. He reportedly weighed in at 166 pounds during his medical check-in at the NFL combine earlier this month in Indianapolis.
"Good players come in all shapes and sizes, and so we're not going to discriminate based on any of those things," general manager Howie Roseman said during his pre-draft process when asked about non-prototypical receivers.
The Eagles have spent first-round picks on the receiver position in back-to-back years, selecting TCU's Jalen Reagor last April.
Parsons, who opted out last season, had 192 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and five pass deflections in 26 career games (13 starts).
It is the sixth draft-day trade the Cowboys and Eagles have consummated since 1989.
"When you trade in the division, you understand that you're not gonna get any values to that. It's gonna have to work for them, as well," Roseman said.
"They got who they wanted, and we got who we wanted," he added. "It's always been a good relationship. It's respect for their organization, and certainly, Mr. Jones, Jerry, and Stephen, we have a lot of respect for them, as well, competing against them."
ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this post.
The Link LonkApril 30, 2021 at 08:48AM
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Philadelphia Eagles trade up with Dallas Cowboys, get DeVonta Smith with 10th pick in NFL draft - ESPN
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