According to a report from the Washington Post, the Eagles have shown a lot of interest in trading for disgruntled Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams. This isn’t exactly the kind of report I think any fan was expecting to see on the morning of the NFL Draft.
It’s hard to judge whether any of these kinds of reports have any validity during this time of year; every report or tidbit we get from around the league feels like a smokescreen at this point. But unfortunately, this one feels more realistic than most.
We’ve heard rumblings from the team about their concerns on second year left tackle Andre Dillard throughout the offseason. It started when Doug Pederson said he’d “love to have Jason Peters back” for the 2020 campaign, even though Peters will be 38-years-old heading into next season and clearly isn’t the same tackle he used to be.
It simmered down a bit when Peters was officially let go, but with the team stating they’d stay in contact with JP if nothing came to fruition for him in free agency, it’s fair to assume the faith the team has in Dillard has faded.
Now, we have this report. If it’s true and the Eagles are really entertaining a trade for Williams, it’s a signal that they don’t believe Dillard has any long-term value to the team. Surely they wouldn’t take on Williams $12 million base salary in 2020 if he was just being brought in to be a stop-gap for Dillard, nor would they even trade for a stop-gap player.
It’s important to note that the front office has also expressed interest in late round tackle prospects during the pre-draft process.
At this point, Dillard starting at left tackle to open the 2020 season feels like a toss up. If Williams is seriously being looked at, a Jason Peters return can’t be ruled out either.
After trading up in last year’s draft to snag Dillard only to see him waste away as a backup would be utterly disappointing. It would also be another tally in the “Howie’s draft f*ck ups” column, which is starting to vastly outnumber the “Howie’s good draft picks” column.
Reportedly, the Redskins are expecting at least a first round pick in return for Williams, which I can’t envision the Eagles doing. The backlash from the fanbase would be absolutely brutal, especially with how important this year’s draft is for Roseman and the rest of the front office.
I, like the rest of you, would be very shocked if this actually happened. But hey, we’ve all seen crazier things happen.