At this rate, Philadelphia will have to be renamed “Oregon East.”
The Eagles are “going to try” to trade up the NFL Draft in an attempt to nab Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, according to an NJ.com report. Mariota, along with Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, has a strong chance to be taken by the Buccaneers with the No. 1 pick.
“From No. 20, it’s certainly not going to be easy,” an Eagles source told the website. “It’s probably going to take moving up twice to do it. There’s going to be some wheeling and dealing involved … Can it happen? I don’t know. But they’re going to try.”
The Eagles’ interest in Mariota is no surprise, seeing as their coach, Chip Kelly, recruited him to Oregon, and has an affinity for the quarterback, (correctly) predicting that he would win the Heisman Trophy, and calling him the “most talented kid I coached in college.”
Nick Foles started in Kelly’s first year with the Eagles, and was off to a solid start in Year 2 before breaking his collarbone and handing the reins over to Mark Sanchez. Foles is currently in line to begin 2015 as the starter with Sanchez heading for free agency.
The interest between Mariota and the Eagles appears to be reciprocal: The quarterback said that he would welcome the idea of playing for Kelly.
“Obviously, [with] my relationship with Coach Kelly, it’d be a lot of fun to be a part of that offense and be a part of that team,” he said.
This report will surely excite Eagles fans, who can dream of Mariota operating Kelly’s breakneck offense just like he did in Eugene. But, there is the small matter of the Eagles being able to move up to select him.
An NFL personnel executive told NJ.com he would ask for a No. 1 and a No. 2 pick this year, a No. 1 pick next year and running back LeSean McCoy. Another possible type of deal referenced was the 1999 trade when Mike Ditka traded the Saints’ entire collection of picks for the right to draft running back Ricky Williams.