Roseman on draft strategy: We must take 'best available player'

PHILADELPHIA - Admitting that the Eagles have, at times, reached for need or relied too heavily on postseason scouting events, general manager Howie Roseman emphasized on Thursday that the team wouldn’t repeat past mistakes next week’s NFL Draft.

Roseman, about to participate in his third draft as general manger, said the Eagles are sticking with the “best player available” approach, a blueprint they’ve touted in the past but managed to stray from on draft days.

“If we just stick to our board and take the best player, we’ll have good drafts,” he said.

The sense here is that Roseman and his staff have spent countless hours this season sizing up past misfires, especially on defense, and examining strategies used by other teams that have historically drafted well.

One issue Roseman said the Eagles have addressed is investing too much stock into postseason events, such as the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine, and instead sticking with their initial evaluations and reports off from their field scouts and from game film.

Since January, Roseman said the Eagles’ draft board has only undergone “tweaks.” In a variety of different ways, the general manager stressed the importance of sticking to their board.

“I think when we go back in our draft, sometimes we have probably drafted based on need, based on some circumstances,” Roseman said. “And we’re trying to make sure we’re taking the best player available now going forward.”

Other observations from Roseman’s pre-draft roundtable session:

* Looking for clues about what the Eagles plan to do next Thursday night – trade up or down, go defensive tackle or quarterback? Well, Roseman didn’t really get into those kind of specifics. You’re stunned, I know.

* Interesting quote from Roseman about safeties in this draft: “… which might not be a strong class, and you’re taking the best of a bad group as opposed to the best. And you’ve got to be careful about that.” Sounds like the Mark Barron fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

* Roseman didn’t go out of his way to talk about Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, but I also didn’t come away thinking that the Eagles are desperate to trade up for a quarterback or use their first-round pick to get one.

* On defensive tackles, Roseman called them “the deepest” class of the draft.

* Roseman noted that DeMeco Ryans gives the Eagles “flexibility,” which was his way of saying there isn’t any urgency of taking a linebacker in the first round – although he didn’t completely dismiss the idea. My hunch: The drought continues.

- Contact Geoff Mosher at gemosher@delawareonline.com and follow him on Twitter (@geoffmosher).