Eagles GM Howie Roseman: Behind-the-Scenes of Trading Up to Draft Makai Lemon

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman returned to The Rich Eisen Show for what Rich called a tradition unlike any other, the post-draft sit-down, and walked through one of the more chaotic procedural moments of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The scene: Philadelphia traded up with the Cowboys. The Eagles were on the clock. Their target, wide receiver Mekhi Lemon, was in the green room. He was also on the phone with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Roseman opened with a joke that captured the tone he wanted to set. He referenced Joe Douglas, recently back with the Eagles, and the way Douglas used to call him about trades.

"I finally picked up the phone and I'd say, tell me what I'm saying no to," Roseman said with a laugh. "So I feel like these conversations, just give me the questions that I'm not going to answer first so we can get out the conversation about everything."

Rich pressed on the procedural mess of the pick. Was it true that Lemon was on the phone with another team when the Eagles were trying to reach him?

Yes, Roseman confirmed. The trade with Dallas was finalized quickly, but the staff still wanted to confirm the pick internally. They started calling Lemon's representation around the six-minute mark.

Things began to unravel.

"Sometimes when you call guys, it goes to voicemail," Roseman said. "You got to get back on them. They're doing other things."

Roseman then admitted to a piece of process he plans to fix. He doesn't track who's actually attending the draft in person.

"Not a disrespect for who the league brings," he said. "I think that's a special moment for their family, but it's just not one of the things I research. I feel like my mind is cluttered with a lot of stuff."

Which meant Roseman was unaware Lemon was sitting in the green room and accessible. He went, in his own words, to a dark place.

"I went to a place where it's like, we better find out where this guy is and get him on the phone for us to pick him right here," Roseman said.

He kept calling the agent. He kept calling Lemon. With about three minutes left on the clock, the Eagles got through.

Rich asked the obvious follow-up. Why did Roseman insist on hearing the player's voice before turning in the pick?

"The world's a crazy place, you know," Roseman said. "God forbid something happens. You just don't know."

Roseman pointed to a personnel-director-era memory of a player who couldn't be reached on the clock because he had gone for a walk after waiting too long to be drafted. Hearing the voice on the other end is a small ritual that closes the loop.

When Rich asked whether anyone in the draft room had pointed out that Lemon was a few feet away in the green room, Roseman cracked the door open just enough to spread the blame.

"That's a good point," Roseman said. "I'm going to get my draft room back together and say, why don't we have a list of who's in the green room?"

Rich pushed in on the AJ Brown speculation. Roseman closed it down. AJ Brown is an Eagle. Mekhi Lemon is also an Eagle. Both things, he insisted, are true.