The Eagles Somehow Let the Lions Fleece Them in Golden Tate Trade

It's very rare that Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions can claim to have fleeced someone in a trade, but that's what happened in the Golden Tate deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In need of a wide receiver for their playoff push in 2018-19, the Eagles traded a Day 2 pick away to the Lions in exchange for Tate, who put up 517 yards and three touchdowns in eight games as a Lion.

Tate was acquired by the Eagles in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Tate averaged just 34.8 yards per game with the Eagles, and he failed to top 300 yards receiving in eight games with the team. Doug Pederson rarely let him go down the field, instead preferring that he only get the ball on quick passes and screens. Tate later signed with the New York Giants, and he put up almost 700 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games with a rookie quarterback last year.

The pick the Eagles gave away, meanwhile, was traded by the Lions to move up to 81st overall in 2019 to select Boston College safety Will Harris, who is expected to start over Tracy Walker at safety next to Duron Harmon.

For a team that's so good at building consistent winners and crafting explosive offenses, the Eagles have been among the worst teams in football when it comes to getting production out of wide receivers. Tate didn't do much of anything with the Eagles, started producing as soon as he left, and cost them a third-round pick.