Here’s How Eagles Could Pull Off Major Trade For Patrick Surtain II

Right now, many people feel the Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the NFC and maybe the entire NFL. They made a pretty big statement on Sunday by defeating the Miami Dolphins, 31-17, and they’re tied for the best record in the league at 6-1.

But good should never be good enough, and some think if the Eagles are dead-serious about winning the Super Bowl this time around, they should be active on the trade market to find what could be the final piece.

With the Denver Broncos suffering through another miserable season, several of their players have come up in trade rumors, including young stud cornerback Patrick Surtain II. It’s somewhat hard to see him actually getting traded, given how effective and young he is, but perhaps it is time for the Broncos to admit, at least tacitly, that it messed up by giving up lots of capital for aging quarterback Russell Wilson and hit the reset button.

Could Surtain be the missing piece for Philly? It already has two good corners in James Bradberry and Darius Slay, but Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated argues that swinging hard for Surtain would be a prudent move.

Compensation: Two first-round picks (2024, ’25) and a ’25 third-round pick.

“This would be the ultimate [Howie] Roseman move, sending the Eagles into the postseason with Darius Slay, James Bradberry and Patrick Surtain II as their top cornerbacks,” wrote Orr. “I think Surtain could be had, even though he was previously viewed as the one untouchable commodity in this upcoming Broncos fire sale. Denver needs draft equity. It needs to start over. While corner is not the biggest weak point for the Eagles (before the Kevin Byard trade, Justin Simmons might have made more sense for Philadelphia), there is so much flexibility for defensive coordinator Sean Desai when you can confidently take away such large swaths of the field, or unleash more pass rushers with confidence that the back end of your defense won’t fall apart. Surtain’s 2021 rookie season, in which nearly 100 targets yielded only 49 completions and an opposing passer rating of 61.3%, set an incredibly high bar for one of the league’s top corners. He could hit that ceiling in Philly.”

Giving up two first-round picks sounds like a steep price to pay. But the Eagles’ pass defense, at least statistically, has been somewhat iffy this season — they ranked 18th in passing yards allowed and 28th in passing touchdowns given up going into Week 8.

Even when they defeated Miami, they allowed star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to make 11 catches, which tied a season-high for him, and he finished with 88 yards and a touchdown.

Bradberry and Slay are both in their early 30s, but Patrick Surtain II is just 23 years of age and in only his third pro season. Last year, he had 10 passes defended and two interceptions as he was named to both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro First Team. He could become a part of a relatively young Philly core for the next several years so that this year wouldn’t be its last shot at the Vince Lombardi Trophy.