Domowitch: Eagles spent a lot in offseason, and still have some holes

The best thing about Jeff Lurie is that he's not Dan Snyder.

He's not obsessed with being the King of March. He's smart enough to know that the prize doesn't go to the owner who spends the most money on free agents.

Since Lurie purchased the Eagles in 1994, his organization has traditionally taken a build-through-the-draft approach and viewed free agency more as a between-meals protein bar rather than the main course.

There have been a few exceptions, of course, including Nnamdi Asomugha and the rest of the infamous 2011 "dream team." And last year, when Lurie went along with Chip Kelly's decision to hand Byron Maxwell, a cornerback with only 17 NFL starts, and running back DeMarco Murray, who was coming off a 497-touch season, more than $40 million in guaranteed money.

Maxwell and Murray, of course, ended up being major disappointments, which played no small part in both the Eagles' 7-9 finish and Kelly's late-December dismissal.

Enter Howie Roseman, who returned from East Jabip and was put back in charge of the team's football operations last January.

Roseman immediately faced two significant problems. The first was that he didn't have a very good grasp of the fast-approaching draft.

He really hadn't been involved in scouting since losing a power struggle to Kelly a year earlier. And the team's top personnel guy, Ed Marynowitz, had been fired along with Kelly.

To make matters worse, the roster was a mess. Holes and/or depth issues everywhere. Cornerback, safety, linebacker, wide receiver, the offensive line.

Their curious decision to trade five draft picks for the opportunity to move up and take a Division I-AA quarterback kind of made Roseman's slippery grasp of the 2016 draft class a moot point.

But it also left the Eagles with fewer draft picks to fill all of those roster holes.

To his credit, Roseman somehow managed to find suckers, er, I mean takers, for Maxwell and Murray and their onerous contracts, which was no small thing. Then, he turned to free agency to try to stabilize the Eagles for both the short and long term.

First, he re-signed three Eagles players who could have become free agents, including Sam Bradford. The other two were defensive end Vinny Curry, who is expected to be a valuable piece in new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's Wide 9 defense, and cornerback Nolan Carroll.

Roseman then added 10 players during the free-agency signing period – wide receivers Rueben Randle and Chris Givens, offensive linemen Brandon Brooks and Stefen Wisniewski, quarterback Chase Daniel, linebacker Nigel Bradham, safety Rodney McLeod, cornerbacks Leodis McKelvin and Ron Brooks, and defensive tackle Mike Martin.

Most of those 10 signings were fairly affordable. Four of them were one-year deals. Brooks, McLeod and Daniel were the only three of the 10 to receive deals that included more than $5 million in guaranteed money.

Brooks, who will be the team's starting right guard, signed a five-year, $40 million deal with $17 million in guarantees. McLeod, who will start at safety, signed a five-year, $35 million deal with $13 million in guarantees. McLeod is only 26. Brooks is 27.

Giving Daniel, who has only 77 career pass attempts and has started only two games in six years, a three-year, $21 million deal with $12 million guaranteed was a bit of a head-scratcher. But head coach Doug Pederson thought it was important to have a quarterback on the roster with a back-of-his-hand knowledge of the offense. Daniel and Pederson had been together in Kansas City the previous three years.

Three of the four players who signed one-year deals – Randle, Givens and Martin – were released. Randle and Givens both underperformed in training camp and the preseason. Martin, who is only 26, looked as if he had a good chance to be part of the Eagles' four-man tackle rotation until he injured his knee.

It appears that four of the 10 free agents the Eagles signed – McKelvin, McLeod, Bradham and Brandon Brooks - will be season-opening starters.

A fifth – Ron Brooks – is expected to be the team's slot corner. McKelvin, Bradham and Ron Brooks all played for Schwartz in 2014, when he was the defensive coordinator in Buffalo.

The Eagles handed out more than $200 million in guaranteed money during the offseason - $51.35 million to the 10 free agents they signed, $40 million to Bradford and Curry, and another $118.8 million to four of their top young players who signed extensions – defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, tight end Zach Ertz, safety Malcolm Jenkins and offensive tackle Lane Johnson.

Cox signed a six-year, $102.6 million deal with $63.3 million in guarantees. Johnson signed a five-year, $56.25 million extension with $35.5 million in guarantees. Jenkins signed a four-year, $35 million extension with $21 million in guaranteed money, and Ertz signed a five-year, $42.5 million extension, $21 million of which is guaranteed.

Even with all of the free-agent additions, the Eagles still have depth issues at a number of positions, including safety, linebacker, running back and wide receiver. Of course, after trading Bradford, they do have their first-round pick back next year.

Grading the Eagles' last four free agency classes:

2016: B

The Eagles added four season-opening starters in free agency – left guard Brandon Brooks, outside linebacker Nigel Bradham, safety Rodney McLeod and cornerback Leodis McKelvin. They also added a key role player in corner Ron Brooks, who is expected to be the team's slot corner in nickel packages. Brooks and McLeod both have the potential to be very good for several years. McLeod is only 26, Brooks 27. They added veteran middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch late in the preseason, but it's too early to tell how much the 31-year-old has left. Probably not much. Howie Roseman managed to dump the contracts of last year's two free-agent busts, Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray. The Maxwell trade ended up being critical to the move up to get Carson Wentz in the draft.

2015: D

Chip Kelly's one and only year as the team's personnel king was an absolute disaster. He overpaid for Maxwell and Murray, who were major disappointments. His two best free-agent acquisitions were running back Ryan Mathews and safety Walter Thurmond. Mathews had only 106 carries and missed three games with a concussion, but averaged 5.1 yards per carry and is the Eagles' top back this season. Thurmond was moved to safety from cornerback and had a solid year there alongside Malcolm Jenkins. Wide receiver Miles Austin was a flop. Wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu was an asset on special teams.

2014: B-plus

The Eagles were widely criticized for passing on the top-rated free-agent safety, Jairus Byrd, and "settling" for cheaper Malcolm Jenkins. Byrd, who signed a six-year, $54 million deal ($18.3 million guaranteed) with the Saints, has missed 15 games because of injury the last two seasons and hasn't played well when he has been on the field. Jenkins, meanwhile, who initially signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Eagles (he has since signed a hefty extension) has been one of the Eagles' best defensive players and a team leader. That year, they also signed cornerback Nolan Carroll and added the two leaders of their outstanding special teams – Bryan Braman and Chris Maragos. And, oh, yeah, they traded for running back Darren Sproles.

2013: C-minus

The one and only reason I'm not giving them an F is because they signed DE/OLB Connor Barwin. Not much else good about that free-agency class, though. Bradley Fletcher. Cary "Sconces" Williams. Patrick Chung. Kenny Phillips. Yowser.

@Pdomo Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog