It’s not just that Roseman — who received 13.5 votes — has built the team with the NFL’s best record at 13-1. It’s the fact that he did it five years after a very different Eagles team won Super Bowl LII, while also setting up Philadelphia to keep adding beyond this season. They own the Saints’ first-round pick in the 2023 draft, which is slotted ninth overall entering Week 16.
“He’s just been really aggressive the way he’s built the roster,” said a rival GM. “Trade back, trade forward. Hired a coach no one really knew much about who took some lumps in the first year. And he’s just really turned over the roster. Took Hurts, wasn’t popular, second-round pick — now he’s an MVP candidate. Finally got the receivers right — they missed on (Justin) Jefferson (to take Jalen Reagor in the 2020 draft), they kept attacking it, took [DeVonta Smith] and made an aggressive trade (for A.J. Brown). The O-line solidified. And now the defense that struggled last year is No. 2.”
Roseman also acquired C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Saints for pocket change in a separate trade and swiftly addressed issues with the run defense by signing veteran defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph.
“He’s playing three-dimensional football executive,” another rival exec said. “I thought Howie set the bar when he had the offseason where he traded away Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to move up in the draft and then moved up again for Carson Wentz, and ends up winning a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback (Nick Foles). I considered that his hat tip, but nope, he did it again, the m———–.”
Seahawks GM John Schneider (6.5 votes) was the runner-up, thanks to the bold Russell Wilson trade that delivered a haul from Denver and a draft class that produced OROY and DROY candidates in Kenneth Walker III and Tariq Woolen and two starting offensive tackles. The Seahawks are in the playoff hunt at 7-7, and Wilson’s replacement, Geno Smith, was just selected to the Pro Bowl.
“The whole world told (Schneider) they were f—ing gonna not be worth a s—,” a third executive said. “They were competitive. He drafts Woolen in what f—ing round was that? And then those two tackles. That was pretty brave. Then just managing the quarterback position. That’s hard to do.”
Jets GM Joe Douglas got two votes. Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, 49ers GM John Lynch, Chiefs GM Brett Veach and Bills GM Brandon Beane got one each.
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