April 14, 2026
During the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles traded up with the Washington Commanders and selected CB Cooper DeJean. And, well, that has worked out nicely for them. But I don't think the Eagles' fleecing of the Commanders that day has really been properly exposed, so, you know, let's do that here.
Heading into Day 2 of the 2024 draft after selecting CB Quinyon Mitchell in the first round, it felt a lot like the Eagles would address their offensive line, wide receiver, or maybe even linebacker with their two second-round picks at 50 and 53. However, just eight picks into Round 2, the Birds were suddenly on the clock at pick 40 after trading up. They then double dipped at cornerback, selecting DeJean.
Here was the trade, with the value of each pick according to the trade value chart:
| Eagles got | Commanders got |
| Pick 40 (500 points) | Pick 50 (400 points) |
| Pick 78 (200 points) | Pick 53 (370 points) |
| Pick 152 (31 points) | Pick 161 (27 points) |
| 731 points | 797 points |
The Eagles gave up 66 points of value to move up, or roughly the equivalent of a fourth-round pick. In other words, you could say that the Eagles paid a premium of a fourth-round pick to make that deal. They did it because they felt they were getting a first-round player at pick 40. Here was Howie Roseman working the phones, trying to trade up with several different teams to select DeJean:
And, well, as a rookie DeJean made the biggest play in the Eagles' second franchise Super Bowl win, and as a second year player he was named First-Team All-Pro.
The Commanders' picks were straightforward.
• Pick 50, CB Mike Sainristil: Sainristil had an encouraging rookie season, but a disappointing second season. He did have four INTs in 2025, but PFF also had him down for nine TDs allowed, 12 missed tackles, and a 109.7 QB rating when opposing quarterbacks targeted him.
• Pick 53, TE Ben Sinnott: 16 career receptions, no better than the Commanders' TE3 heading into 2026.
• Pick 161, S Dominique Hampton: One career game played, six snaps (all on special teams), no longer on the team.
The Eagles' side of the trade is much more complicated. In addition to the 40th overall pick used to select DeJean, the Eagles received two picks back in return — pick 78 and pick 152.
• With pick 152, the Eagles selected WR Ainias Smith, who stunk in a couple of Eagles training camps and is no longer on the team.
• The Eagles turned pick 78 into a bunch of other picks.
First, they moved back from pick 78 to pick 86 with Houston, and picked up the 123rd pick in the process.
At pick 86, they moved back again to pick 94 with San Francisco, and picked up the 132nd pick.
At pick 94, they selected EDGE Jalyx Hunt, who, like DeJean, is worth more than Sainristil and Sinnott combined. Hunt had a breakout season in 2025. From Week 7 on, he filled up the stat sheet in a variety of ways. In the Eagles' final 11 games, he had 38 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, 3 INTs (including a pick-six), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three pass breakups.
He has quickly become a highly versatile player who can rush the passer, play the run, and probably most notably, drop into coverage extraordinarily well for an edge defender.
At pick 123, they moved back again with Houston to pick 127, and picked up an extra fifth-round pick in 2025.
At pick 127, they selected RB Will Shipley, who showed some promise as a rookie, but had a disappointing 2025 season, and is no better than the RB3 heading into 2026.
At pick 132, the Eagles moved back again, this time with Detroit, to pick 164. They also netted pick 201 in that deal, as well as a 2025 fourth-round pick. They gave up pick 210.
The Eagles then packaged picks 164 and 201 to move up to pick 155, where they selected LB Jeremiah Trotter, who has been a good special teamer his first two seasons in the NFL and is poised to be the first off-ball linebacker off the bench in 2026.
With the 2025 fourth-round pick they got from Detroit above, it's starts to get really complicated, but the Eagles more or less turned that pick into CB Mac McWilliams, OT Myles Hinton, and OT Cameron Williams, though none of those guys have really given much reason for optimism.
With the 2025 fifth-round pick they got from Houston above, the Eagles selected LB Smael Mondon, who played in every game as a rookie on special teams.
| Eagles got | Commanders got |
| CB Cooper DeJean | CB Mike Sainristil |
| EDGE Jalyx Hunt | TE Ben Sinnott |
| LB Jeremiah Trotter | S Dominique Hampton |
| RB Will Shipley | |
| LB Smael Mondon | |
| OT Cameron Williams | |
| OT Myles Hinton | |
| CB Mac McWilliams | |
| WR Ainias Smith |
In other words, in that trade the Eagles got an All-Pro corner, a 2025 breakout edge defender who could have plenty of ceiling ahead of him, and a whole slew of lottery tickets who still have a chance to show something.
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