How the Giants beat the Eagles on draft night (Opinion)

If you've ever seen the Kevin Kostner movie "Draft Day" you would know that it paled in comparison to last week's 2021 NFL draft. There were surprises, intrigue, lots of trading and the continuation of the rivalry between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles that continues off the field as well as on.

At the start of the night, the Philadelphia Eagles had the 12th pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Actually, they started the off-season with the 6th pick thanks to tanking their final game of the 2020 season by losing to the Washington Football Team, which kept the New York Giants out of the playoffs. But then things started to heat up.

On March 26, the Eagles traded their 6th pick and a fifth rounder to the Dolphins for Miami's first round pick this year, which was 12th along with the 123rd pick, which was a 4th rounder and Miami's first round pick next year.

The Eagles now sat behind the Dallas Cowboys at 10 and the New York Giants at 11. Time for Eagles Executive Vice President Howie Roseman to make some moves. Among the teams, Roseman called were the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Yes the Giants.

From Newsday: "[Eagles GM] Howie [Roseman] is not afraid to trade with anybody," Gettleman said. "I had a conversation with him earlier in the week and he said, ‘Dave, do you have any problems trading with me?’ I said, ‘No, if it works for both of us, it works for both of us.’"

So Gettleman knew that the Eagles were trying to trade up from 12. By the time they sent a third round pick to the division rival Dallas Cowboys to get the 10th pick, they had already lost out 3 of the 4 players they were linked to. Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle, cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II, so the only other player left was Devonta Smith, which is whom the Giants had wanted and whom CBS says were livid that they didn't get.

So what's a Gettemen to do? After losing out on Smith, he makes a deal with the Bears sending the Giants 11th pick to Chicago for their 20th pick along with Chicago's fifth-round pick this year plus the Bears first round pick and 4th round picks next year.

The Giants with the 20th pick take Florida wide receiver Kaderous Toney, breaking Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer's heart because he wanted to take Meyer at 23 as well as the Green Bay Packers who were hoping he would fall to them at 29.

NFL Network Good Morning Football Host Nate Burleson calls Toney one of the biggest steals in the draft.

So when all is said and done, the Eagles traded the 6th pick to the Dolphins in exchange for this year’s 12th pick and the Dolphins’ 4th round pick in this year's draft plus a 1st-round pick in next year’s draft. Then they give Dallas a third to move into the 10th spot and take Devonta Smith.

The Giants at 11 trade back with the Bears and go to 20th and get Chicago's fifth-round pick this year plus the Bears First round pick and 4th round picks next year. They take Kaderous Toney. Keep in mind that the Bears pick will probably be higher than the Dolphins.

Oh and by the way, the next day the Giants then use that fifth-round choice they got from the Bears to move up five spots in the third round to jump the Eagles and select cornerback Aaron Robinson of Central Florida with the 71st overall pick.

That the Eagles lost out on Robinson may have been the reason senior football advisor Tom Donohoe was reluctant to give Howie Roseman a fistbump after the birds selected defensive tackle, Milton Williams.

It won't be for a while before we see who really won this draft. Each of the number one picks has other players and picks attached to them so it won't just be player vs player, Smith vs Toney. It will be the complete trade package that we won't know the results of for about 3-5 years, but as things stand right now, I'm giving my fistbump to "trader Dave."

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.