Howie Roseman gets real about why Philadelphia Eagles didn't draft a tight end

Many NFL fans and analysts went into last week's draft weekend expecting the Philadelphia Eagles to trade veteran tight end Dallas Goedert and select his successor.

But neither move went through. 

That said, it doesn’t mean the Eagles weren’t working behind the scenes to make something happen.

“I would say I don’t find it hard to trade during the draft with teams,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. “I think our phone’s ringing all the time. We’re talking to a lot of teams.”

The Eagles passed on drafting top tight end prospects like LSU's Mason Taylor, Miami's Elijah Arroyo, and Oregon's Terrance Ferguson.

Instead, they focused on strengthening the trenches and reinforcing their secondary.

“Just trying to be as true as we could to the board,” Roseman told reporters, when asked why he didn’t pick a tight end. “Every time that we had the opportunity to pick, we were looking at the board and really trying to reflect what that worked to put those grades in really should be reflected in the outcome, so we didn’t want to kind of drop down at some points. At some points, it was close, but it was never when we were selecting the best player.”

Although Roseman didn’t say it outright, it has become clearer that the team isn't necessarily ready to split with Goedert.

“Dallas is a heck of a player, a heck of a person,” Roseman said. “Certainly don’t want to do anything publicly where we’re discussing anyone’s business, but I have so much respect for him. Been to two Super Bowls together and obviously would love him on this team. You always love having Dallas on this team, but we’re not there right now on any of that. But, love Dallas Goedert.”

Having Goedert play out the final year of his contract is far from a bad thing, considering the established vet is a complete tight end who excels in both run blocking and pass catching -- when healthy, of course. 

However, the Eagles could still use some quality depth behind him. Perhaps they will find the answer through an undrafted free agent.