In case you want to know, Joe Banner has some thoughts on the NFL Draft. Nothing about the Browns though.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...Anything_can_happen__but_usually_doesn_t.html
Banner on the draft: Anything can happen, but usually doesn't
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Columnist
Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 1:08 AM
Joe Banner sat in enough NFL draft rooms to know that anything can happen. He also sat in enough NFL draft rooms to know that it usually doesn't.
The former Eagles president, who still acts as an NFL consultant while enjoying a much-less-stressful life, described the typical draft room as being a lot like sitting in front of your own family-room, big-screen TV as each selection is made.
His point is that the groundwork is done by the time the draft arrives. The discussions and debates are usually over. The medical records have been checked and checked again. Character flaws have been duly noted.
"When your time comes, if the first round is 10 minutes, you probably will wait five minutes to see if there are any last phone calls about a trade," Banner said Monday during a phone interview. "At five minutes, you'll call New York City [Chicago this year] and tell your guy to write down the name and hold it. If you don't hear anything, you tell them to go up and hand in the card with a couple minutes left."
In the 19 years he spent in the Eagles' draft room, Banner never experienced anything like what it would take for Chip Kelly to move up and get Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota when the names start being posted on the draft board Thursday night.
"I think it's unlikely, but not impossible," Banner said.
Highly unlikely would probably be more accurate. Unlikely is what happened in the Eagles' draft room in 2009. Banner said the team had targeted cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Darius Butler with the 19th overall pick. They did not think there was any chance Jeremy Maclin would still be around.
"All of a sudden, it was our turn, and we're trying to decide if we should stick with one of the two corners we really liked or if we should take Maclin," Banner said. "We decided he was just too good to pass on."
The Eagles also used the 28th overall pick in the first round and two later-round picks to acquire Jason Peters, and they got LeSean McCoy in the second round, so that year ranks among the best drafts in franchise history.
Three years later, the Eagles targeted Fletcher Cox and moved up from the 15th overall pick to No. 12 to get him. But, while on the clock, they received a phone call from a team they had not spoken with in the days leading up to the draft.
"I won't say the team, but they offered us a second-round pick that year and a first-rounder the next year for that pick, and we knew it was probably going to be a pretty high one the next year," Banner said. "It kind of came out of the blue, and we had to make a quick decision. We liked Cox too much to make the trade."
Highly unlikely did strike the Eagles once during Banner's tenure, but it occurred in the third round of probably the best draft in Andy Reid's time with the team.
"We wanted to move up to draft Brian Westbrook," Banner said of the 2002 draft. "I think we had everybody in the room making calls and different offers for about 20 picks. It seemed like it went on for an hour. It was very intense."
All the trade offers were rejected. Westbrook slipped to the Eagles anyway.
"Completely flabbergasted," Banner said. "I think the fact that he went to Villanova and was undersized caused people to really underestimate him."
Banner said there were a lot of debates before some of the Eagles' best picks. Not everybody was on board with the selection of Donovan McNabb, but Reid's voice won the day.
The best draft of the Banner era might have been the one right before Reid and former general manager Tom Modrak arrived. The Eagles took Tra Thomas with the 11th overall pick in the 1998 draft and traded their second-round pick to the Jets for Hugh Douglas. They also selected Jeremiah Trotter, Allen Rossum, Brandon Whiting, and Ike Reese.
"Tra Thomas or Mo Collins was hotly debated," Banner said. "There was a huge difference of opinion on that one. Fortunately, we settled on Tra. The trades for Hugh and Peters were the best draft moves we made."
Banner said that once Reid arrived following the 1998 season, the Eagles' draft room had a lot of stability. Reid's voice, according to Banner, was always the most authoritative, even when Modrak was around.
"Tom was inclined to defer to Andy, because he felt like if the coach was invested in a pick, he would work hard to coach the guy up, and the player would be successful," Banner said. "They had some different philosophies, but it wasn't contentious."
The front row in the draft room had three staples throughout Reid's tenure: the coach, Banner, and owner Jeffrey Lurie. The fourth man up front changed from Modrak to Tom Heckert to Howie Roseman. Banner said Reid had the final word but was diligent about getting strong opinions from others.
Now, the Eagles' draft room has one clear man in charge, and Chip Kelly's decisions will either make or break the franchise.
