Josh Heupel, head coach of Tennessee Vol, recently declared that he would shortly be retiring due to…

The Eagles traded down 22 spots in the following April draft (from No. 98 at the end of the third round to No. 120 in the fourth) in exchange for the former Pittsburgh starter and a 2025 seventh-round pick.

Prior to what ended up being his breakthrough season, the Eagles were unsure if Jalen Hurts would be the team’s long-term starter in the summer of 2022. But the organization was accustomed to the idea of running a second season to determine Hurts’ actual status as a rookie quarterback.

At the time, Eagles Today on SI.com was told by team insiders that a “home run” would have been the only significant alteration that could have occurred. That description was restricted to attempting to persuade Russell Wilson, the company’s “white whale,” who goes by Deshaun Watson, the troubled man, to think about making the City of Brotherly Love his intended destination after he leaves Seattle.

According to an NFL source, Watson, Hurts’ offseason quarterback coach, was not amenable to the prospect of either seasoned player joining the Eagles. He hoped he wouldn’t be the one to sabotage his friend’s chance.

In retrospect, Hurts’ excellent supporting group—which included the 2002 draft night selection of exceptional receiver A.J. Brown—helped him finish second to MVP Patrick Mahomes in the 2002–02 campaign. Still, excellence is not as desirable as luck.

But Watson has never returned to his previous state prior to the Houston pre-sexual assault accusations. But in terms of his relationship with Pickett and the Steelers, Wilson’s abrupt decline in Denver turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Wilson intends to try again in Pittsburgh this season.

Pickett was the only player selected in the first round of 2022, and he went to the Steelers at No. 20 overall. He was the high point of a quarterback’s “terrible draft class.”

The Eagles’ investigation of Pickett was never focused on the first round, even after the player had an incredible postseason run in Nick Sirianni’s debut season as head coach. After going big-game hunting at No. 15, Philadelphia eventually defeated Baltimore at No. 14 to get to Jordan Davis.

GM Howie Roseman and his personnel staff had high hopes for Pickett, according to several team insiders. If others had stayed away, maybe scared off by Pickett’s little size, they surely would have given him considerable thought in the next round.

Roseman had once attended a game of Pickett’s; this was important, if somewhat simplified by the fact that it was a midweek match close to home.