Carson Wentz vs. Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles' Carson Wentz looks to pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

(Michael Perez)

MOBILE, Ala. -- When Eagles executive vice president Howie Roseman left the Senior Bowl last year, he knew that quarterback Carson Wentz was his man.

He just needed a willing trade partner to go up and get him.

He found that in the Browns, and Roseman firmly believes he found his franchise quarterback.

"When we look at it, Carson Wentz fits the Philadelphia Eagles,'' Roseman told cleveland.com after a Senior Bowl practice. "He's got a skill set that we're looking for at the quarterback position that our folks are going to run. He's got the temperament and leadership style that kind of fits our city and it's a been a good fit for us.

"Now, it's on all of us to make sure he's surrounded by the right people and that we take a jump from year one to year two but obviously, in the situation we're in now we're excited to have him on our football team."

Almost a year after that blockbuster trade up from No. 8 to No. 2, Roseman would make the deal all over again in a heartbeat -- even though the Browns have his No. 12 overall pick this year and his second-rounder next year.

"The best trades are always the trades that are win-win for both teams and when we look at this trade, from our perspective, we had a very specific need at that position long term, we identified someone that fit with our offensive system and we're really excited about Carson,'' said Roseman, who was general manager for the Eagles from 2010-14 before assuming his current title. "By the same token, Cleveland had a plan in place that they're sticking to and they're really excited about having the 12th pick in the draft and having our second-round pick next year.

"When we look at it, it was a great example of what trades should be: really good for the Philadelphia Eagles, really good for the Cleveland Browns."

Roseman, whose team went 7-9 last season with Wentz starting every game, admitted that he looked ahead to the 2017 quarterback class before deciding to roll the dice. This year's class includes Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky and DeShone Kizer.

"We did,'' he said. "We had spent a lot of time looking at this year's class and trying to figure out where could we get up to and who was going to be there, knowing that guys emerge and whoever typically had been the hot guy before we did the trade in March or in early April, knowing things would change."

"But for us, we kind of had this bird in the hand, and two teams at the top of the draft who were willing to move up. ... We just felt like we had to take advantage of the moment and if we kept saying 'well maybe the next year, maybe the year after,' that we would kind of keep pushing it forward. At some point, we needed to take the Band-Aid off and say 'hey, we're going for it' and we're going to build around the 23-year-old quarterback.''

Roseman admitted he was sold after watching Wentz practice for three days at the Senior Bowl last year.

"When we came down here, we had done a bunch of work on the quarterbacks and getting a chance to see him throw live beyond the field level, see the ball come out of his hands, see his size, see his leadership ability, see his footwork and then we had a chance to meet with him in a hotel room and get to see how smart he was and his personality showing through,'' he said. "We had already thought at this point, that if there was an opportunity to move up, we would. But we were sitting there without a second-round pick and picking 13th (they traded with Miami to move up to No. 8), but after we left here, we all got on the plane and we got back to Philly and said, "man, it would be great if we could find a way to move up.''

He knew it wouldn't be easy. But he has no regrets. The Eagles gave up their the No. 8 pick in the first round, their third and fourth-round picks in 2016 (77 and 100), their first-round pick in 2017 and their second-round pick in 2018. The Browns threw in a fourth-rounder in 2017 along with No. 2.

"It took a lot of work and a great credit to Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta and the rest of their staff, Andrew Berry about working together and trying to find a solution that we could all live,'' he said. "Because we didn't have a lot of picks last year and they have a plan in place that's not just for one year but when you're running a team, to have a long-term plan is an important thing and it seems like they've really got that.''

Wentz' rookie season was not without its ups and down. DePodesta said the Browns passed on him because they didn't believe he'd be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL -- and he wasn't as a rookie. He finished 25th with a 79.3 rating. But the Eagles lost their starting right tackle in Lane Johnson to a 10-game suspension and Wentz didn't have much of a supporting cast. They lost five straight at one point and went 1-7 on the road. This off-season, they'll send Wentz to California to work on his throwing motion with a biomechanics expert.

The Browns have been thrilled with their end of the bargain, which included another trade down from No. 8 to No. 15. From the haul, they drafted receiver Corey Coleman, offensive lineman Shon Coleman, quarterback Cody Kessler, receiver Ricardo Louis, safety Derrick Kindred, receiver Jordan Payton and offensive lineman Spencer Drango. All finished last season on the roster.

Still to come are the 12th pick in the first round, this year's second-rounder from the Titans and next year's second-rounder from the Eagles.

If all goes as planned, the Browns will end up with their franchise quarterback too, either as a draft pick or dealing a pick or picks for a quarterback such as New England's Jimmy Garoppolo.

"We're really happy about the players that we ended up with in that transaction, and in fact, (three) key players from that transaction we don't even know what their names are yet,'' DePodesta said at the Browns' wrapup presser. "In any transaction, you hope you do well and you're perfectly happy if the other team does well, too. That is how good trades happen."

The Eagles still have a first round pick -- the 14th overall -- from the trade of veteran QB Sam Bradford to Minnesota.

"Sometimes luck plays a big part of it,'' said Roseman. "When you look at the trade with the Vikings and talking to Rick Spielman down here, they couldn't be more excited abut Sam Bradford too, so they're real excited about their end of that trade and we're excited that we were able to get back in the first round and a draft held in Philly in front of our own fans.

"That's the exciting thing is that you can call those guys in Cleveland and talk to them about making a trade again because they feel good about their end and we feel good about our end. You can call Minnesota and know that we have an honest relationship, we'll be honest about the players that we're talking about and that's a good way to do business in the National Football League.''

As long as the Browns end up with their own version of Wentz, it should be a win-win for all.