The Philadelphia Eagles played an aggressive version of “Let’s Make A Deal” during the final two days of the NFL draft.
The Eagles made nine trades during the seven-round draft, reportedly the most since draft deals began being tracked in 1990.
One of the deals came to move up to the second round Friday to draft cornerback Cooper DeJean of Iowa.
Philadelphia made two trades in Friday’s third round and three more in Saturday’s fourth. They netted Clemson running back Will Shipley with one of the fourth-round trades.
One of the two fifth-round trades led to the choice of linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. from Clemson. The elder Trotter was a four-time Pro Bowler for the Eagles, playing for the team in 1998-2001, 2004-06 and 2009.
“It means a lot,” the younger Trotter told reporters about being drafted by Philadelphia. “I know the type of legacy that he left with this organization, and the fans, how they treated him, and the coaches that he played for, and players he’s played for with the Eagles.
“It definitely means a lot to come in and continue that legacy and help out the team any way that I can. I’m a hometown kid, and the Eagles were always my favorite team growing up.”
Philadelphia made its final trade in the sixth round and was quiet in the seventh.
Before the Eagles began their trade frenzy, they used their first-round pick on Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22 overall.
“Obviously, he’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman told reporters. “The MAC is not the National Football League. We understand that. We’ve had tremendous success with big schools. To take a player like this from the MAC, he has to be special.”
