“With the 32nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select…”

Those were 13 words that did not get uttered last night in Dallas. Instead, Howie Roseman did what many expected him to do and traded down, acquiring more picks in the process. Baltimore had the honor of moving back up in the first round in exchange for the 52nd pick (2nd round), the 125th pick (4th round), and a 2019 2nd round pick.

They used that pick on quarterback Lamar Jackson, who slipped until the end of the first round. Earlier in the night, the Saints moved from 27 to 14 in a trade that some thought would result in Jackson being snagged there. Instead, they selected Marcus Davenport out of UTSA. The Patriots passed on Jackson twice after they were rumored to be really interested in him.

The move may be good and bad. Good because the Eagles got more picks, especially their additional pick in next year’s 2nd round. They now have 11 picks next year. But it could be bad because the Eagles won’t make their first pick until significantly later in the next round.

They still have six picks in this year’s draft, but the key may have been that second rounder next year:

“Our balance was the short term vs. the long term on the trade offers,” executive Howie Roseman said not long after the Eagles swapped picks with the Ravens on Thursday night. “And we decided that it’s just too hard to get a second-round pick. When we look at the draft, the difference in value when you’re picking in the second round vs. even when you’re picking in the third round.

“It’s too good. It gives you a lot of flexibility.”

But there’s still plenty of talent available. Among the players:

  • Derrius Guice, RB (LSU)
  • Ronald Jones, RB (USC)
  • Nick Chubb, RB (Georgia)
  • Courtland Sutton, WR (SMU)
  • Christian Kirk, WR (Texas A&M)
  • Dallas Goedert, TE (South Dakota State)
  • Mike Gesicki, TE (Penn State)
  • Connor Williams, OT (Texas)
  • Will Hernandez, OG (UTEP)
  • Maurice Hurst, DT (Michigan)
  • Harold Landry, DE (Boston College)
  • Josh Jackson, CB (Iowa)
  • Justin Reid, S (Stanford)
  • Ronnie Harrison, S (Alabama)

The Eagles have picks 52 (2nd round), 125 (4th), 130 (4th), 169 (5th), 206 (6th), and 250 (7th). We’ll see what happens tonight and tomorrow.

While we wait, savor in this moment:

Also, some players got new numbers (those in bold are guys that are important):

  • Jay Ajayi (26)
  • Michael Bennett (77)
  • Elie Bouka (38)
  • Winston Craig (74)
  • Ronald Darby (21)
  • Randall Goforth (36)
  • Taylor Hart (76)
  • Cameron Johnston (1)
  • Corey Nelson (52)
  • Haloti Ngata (94)
  • Joshua Perkins (83)
  • Richard Rodgers (82)
  • Aziz Shittu (90)
  • Tre Sullivan (37)
  • Jon Toth (64)
  • Mike Wallace (14)
  • Dom Williams (84)
  • Marquess Wilson (81)
  • Paul Worrilow (50)
  • Adam Zaruba (80)

The Roundup:


The Phillies took a bad 8-2 loss to the Diamondbacks yesterday afternoon. You probably didn’t watch because the game was only on Facebook Watch, which was a smart idea on your part.

Ben Lively struggled right from the start, only going 2 1/3 innings and giving up seven runs on seven hits and walking four on 67 pitches. He only recorded one strikeout. Arizona put up three runs in the first before scoring the remaining five in the third. Whereas Nick Pivetta has been outstanding, Lively has not made it through the sixth inning in all but one of his starts.

Aaron Altherr extended his hitting streak to five games with an RBI double. And while Altherr is finally hitting, Carlos Santana is looking to copy what the outfielder has done to end his own slump:

“I feel much better now,” Santana said after going 1-for-4, with a double in the fourth inning. “I’m feeling comfortable and finding my pitch. I know it’s a long season, and we’ll see what happens later.”

Santana has seven hits in 25 at-bats since Gabe Kapler removed him from the lineup for one game in Atlanta. Santana has five walks and three extra-base hits in those seven games. It is not enough to say his slump is busted, but it is a trend in the right direction. Santana entered that day off with seven hits in 62 at-bats.

“For me, it’s just about staying positive and focused,” Santana said. “It’s a long season. We have to keep fighting, every game and every at-bat. We’ll see what happens.”

Up next is a weekend series with the Atlanta Braves for the third time this season. We’re just hitting the one month mark. And like the previous two series, it’ll start with Aaron Nola against Julio Teheran. First pitch tonight is at 7:05 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia.


The Sixers won’t play again until Monday. Thanks to Milwaukee’s 97-86 win over the Celtics, those two teams will play Game 7 Saturday night at 8 PM on TNT.

Brett Brown’s squad will easily take that extended rest. They’re preparing for an even more intense series whoever wins Saturday night:

“In every series, the deeper you go, I’m going to paint something more physical,” Brown said, “something more dramatic, something more fundamental, something that you have to game plan and be on point with a scouting report.”

Rebounding remains one of the team’s core fundamentals in their next series.

The Ben Simmons-Donovan Mitchell Rookie of the Year debate is dumb, even though Simmons should win the award.

Bobby Marks of ESPN In$ider mentioned the Sixers as a team he’d like to see trade for Kawhi Leonard:

76ers get: Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Paul

Spurs get: Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz, Jerryd Bayless and the Lakers’ 2018 first-round pick

Bobby Marks: There are two questions that the 76ers’ front office has to ask about this type of deal:

  1. Can they sign Leonard (or a similar player) as a free agent in 2019 using cap space without sacrificing assets?
  2. Are they confident Leonard will commit long term?

Before the first question is answered, Philadelphia will need to rely on coach Brett Brown and his relationship with Leonard from his days as an assistant in San Antonio. Because Philadelphia is restricted in what it can offer Leonard in an extension before free agency (four years, $107 million; six months after he is acquired), both sides would be relying on a handshake agreement before the trade is completed. Essentially, the Sixers would be risking three assets because they trust Leonard.

If the risk is warranted, Philadelphia would still have $27 million in room in 2018 and a lineup featuring Leonard, Ben Simmons, Robert Covington and Joel Embiid, plus its own first-round pick. The 76ers can take the same approach and roll over room to 2019 with $20 million in space.

Remember, as the Lakers have learned, cap space is no guarantee of signing an All-NBA-level player. For San Antonio, trading Leonard would be the last resort if the relationship between the organization and player cannot be repaired.

This trade would accomplish three things for San Antonio: It would send Leonard to the Eastern Conference; the Spurs would remain competitive with three players who can help now; and the Spurs could have $35 million in 2019 to add players to surround LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills, Murray, Fultz, Saric and two first-round picks in 2018 (the Lakers’ first and their own).



Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol thought the outcome of the season was good. But the consistency of the season wasn’t good:

“Ninety-eight points is respectable. Being a playoff team is respectable,” Hakstol said at his season-ending news conference Thursday at the Flyers’ practice facility in Voorhees. “We’re not here to be respectable. We’re here to be better than that.”

Hakstol and his staff are staying. But Brandon Manning, Matt Read, Johnny Oduya (lol), and probably Val Filppula will not be back.

TV ratings for the Flyers dropped 25% this season compared to last. But there’s more to the story than just that. And one stat went significantly up.

Marcus Hayes had another bad take on Claude Giroux. The talking poop emoji also made its Crossing Broad debut.

Will the myth of the “Philly Fan” ever die?


In other sports news, Ryan Shazier walked with his fiance to announce the Steelers pick in the moment of the weekend:

The Cowboys selected another linebacker with an injury history, and one fan wasn’t happy:

https://twitter.com/ChickenColeman/status/989641786787225600

Josh Rosen wasn’t happy about going 10. Baker Mayfield went 1, Saquon Barkley went 2, and Sam Darnold went 3.

The Steelers also traded wide receiver Martavis Bryant to the Raiders for a third round pick.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins scored three goals in a span of 4:49 in the third period to take a 1-0 lead against the Washington Capitals in their semifinal battle. Over in the west, Vegas blanked San Jose 7-0.

In other NHL news, the league wants Bruins forward Brad Marchand to stop licking players. That’s apparently a thing.


In the news, Bill Cosby was found guilty on all charges of sexual assault. This also happened:

North and South Korean leaders have promised to end the Korean War and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Tom Brokaw has been accused of sexual harassment.

The price of Amazon Prime is going up from $99 to $119 a year.