Eagles insist they have no regrets, despite lower-than-expected draft picks from Carolina

Eagles insist they have no regrets, despite lower-than-expected draft picks from Carolina
February 18
Philadelphia Daily News

"If the Carolina Panthers had finished 4-12 last season rather than 12-4, it wouldn't be difficult to recognize the Eagles' coaches and scouts at the NFL scouting combine this week.They'd be the ones drooling. They'd be the ones in the enviable position of being able to add one of the five or six best players in this year's draft to a team that made it to the NFC Championship Game.That was the scenario the Eagles were hoping for last April when they traded their first-round pick in the 2008 draft - the 19th overall - to the Panthers for their second- and fourth-round selections last year and their first-round pick in 2009.After another draft-day trade, they turned those two '08 picks into three players - defensive tackle Trevor Laws, offensive lineman Mike McGlynn and safety/kick returner Quintin Demps. Laws did a decent job as an early-down backup to starters Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. Demps was the Eagles' best kick returner since Brian Mitchell and showed some promise as a situational defensive back until his January meltdown against the Cardinals.But the piece de resistance was supposed to be the Panthers' 2009 first-round pick. They were coming off a 7-9 season. Their quarterback was recovering from Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Their coach, John Fox, was on the hot seat. His offense had finished 29th in the league the year before, his defense 16th. At the very worst, the Eagles figured they'd end up with a pick in the middle of the round.But the Panthers surprised everyone, including the Eagles, by winning 12 games and making the playoffs. What's more, the player they took with the Eagles' pick - offensive tackle Jeff Otah - played a prominent role in their success. He started 12 games at right tackle for an offense that finished third in the league in rushing and allowed just 20 sacks.So, while the Eagles have two first-round picks in the April draft, both are in the bottom third of the round - their own at 21 and the Panthers' at 28. Furthermore, they almost certainly will have to spend one of those two picks on an offensive tackle, who might or might not turn out to be as good as the guy they could have taken with the 19th overall pick last year, Otah.That said, the Eagles insist they have no regrets about making the 2008 draft-day deal."Not really," general manager Tom Heckert said. "If there had been a guy we really, really wanted and needed, we probably would have stayed there. Obviously, it would have been better for us if Carolina had had a poorer record. But there's no second thoughts."
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