Last month, the Atlanta Falcons acquired safety Sydney Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles for fourth and sixth-round pick swaps. Of the many offseason moves Ian Cunningham made in his first offseason as the Falcons' GM, this one has understandably flown under the radar with the fanbase.
Eagles fans had high hopes for the 2023 third-rounder, but between Brown's inability to stay healthy and his struggles as a tackler, they'd rather ship him off to Atlanta than evaluate him as a long-term Reed Blankenship replacement. And the trade has aged even worse following the 2026 NFL Draft.
Let's revisit this deal. The Falcons moved down eight spots in the fourth round and 18 spots in the sixth round in exchange for the 26-year-old, but the context of knowing what actually happened to the picks involved here makes it look significantly better for the Eagles and way worse for Atlanta.
The Sydney Brown trade indirectly helped the Eagles make one of the best picks in the 2026 NFL Draft
Believe it or not, three of these four picks were not made by these teams. The Eagles made neither of these picks. They shipped off the 114th pick along with an extra fourth-rounder to Dallas (who drafted Florida CB Devin Moore) in order to trade up three picks on Day 1 to select USC WR Makai Lemon with the 20th pick, and traded pick 197 (Miami WR CJ Daniels) to the Los Angeles Rams.
Lemon is physical, a good route runner, and can do everything a modern offense asks of a WR1. And since the Eagles are in a lengthy trade saga with A.J. Brown and it seems like he'll be moved on June 1, Philadelphia has found Brown's successor and added another elite weapon to a loaded offense.
And to add insult to injury, the Dirty Birds didn't even make the 122nd pick. They traded back with the Las Vegas Raiders, who drafted Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr., and drafted Oklahoma LB Kendal Daniels and Washington DT Anterio Thompson with the selections they obtained in that trade back.
Then at 215, the Falcons took a shot on Harold Perkins Jr., who they evidently have big plans for. Perkins was a massive steal given the talent and proven college production. And between him and Daniels, they added versatility at linebacker and athleticism on the defensive line with Thompson.
Daniels is an athletic freak whose set to play a key role for Jeff Ulbrich's defense, but who do we think will have more of a Day 1 impact, him or Lemon? Because once Brown is traded, Lemon will be Philadelphia's WR2, and likely would've been someone Atlanta considered had they kept pick 13. Him falling to 20 was insane, as many (like myself) saw him as the best wideout prospect in this draft class.
So while the Falcons drafted some impact players, because of their indirect actions, they caused the Eagles to be clear winners of the draft once again--as another elite talent fell into their lap. So even if the intent was good behind trade, it's gonna take a big year from Brown to put this in the win column.
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