Howie Roseman Has Tense Exchange With Tom Donahoe in Eagles War Room
Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Rosman hasn't done a whole lot right lately and fans of the franchise are fed up with his leadership. On Friday night during the third round of the draft, that frustration boiled over to a member of his staff.
After the Eagles selected Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Milton Williams with the 73rd pick, Roseman looked for the customary fist bumps from the assembled front office members. He worked the room and when he got to senior director of player personnel Tom Donahoe things got awkward.
Check it out:
Eagles senior scout Tom Donahoe had an interesting interaction with Howie Roseman after drafting Milton Williams.#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Voga3EzCVa
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 1, 2021
You don't have to be a body language expert to see Donahoe was not happy with the pick. In fact, he looks pissed and was letting Roseman know about it. In rewatching the video, it appears a few other guys don't look thrilled with it either.
Here's what Roseman said about the exchange:
Howie Roseman on the video of Tom Donahoe's reaction after the #Eagles took Milton Williams: "These guys spend all year scouting these guys and you get favorites, guys you feel strongly about, we all do. That's the fun part of being in the draft room, the emotions of it."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) May 1, 2021
What's interesting is that the Eagles traded down from 70 to 73 and only got an extra sixth rounder for their trouble. According to Roseman, the discussion with Donahoe was about a player Philly missed out due to that trade:
Howie Roseman says the conversation caught on camera with Tom Donahoe was about losing out on a player picked during trade down (which would be either Aaron Robinson or Alim McNeill).
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) May 1, 2021
So that means Donahoe either wanted UCF cornerback Aaron Robinson or N.C. State defensive tackle Alim McNeil.
So far in the draft, the Eagles have selected Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith, Alabama center Landon Dickerson and Williams. They traded up a few spots to take Smith at No. 10 to fill a huge need at wide receiver, so that's a solid pick. Dickerson is coming off his second ACL surgery and -- while he was the top center on my board -- might have been a reach at 37. Williams flashes some great stuff on film, but he's wildly-undersized for a defensive tackle and the Eagles already have Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave at the position.
Through three rounds, Roseman has really only filled one area of need. The Eagles desperately need to find help at cornerback, inside linebacker and safety. So it's not shocking Donahoe wasn't thrilled with Roseman's decision-making.