The Philadelphia Eagles have gone 10-6 in each of Chip Kelly’s two years as head coach. In 2013, Philadelphia won the NFC East but lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round. In 2014, Kelly could not overcome Nick Foles’ broken collarbone, falling a win shy of the postseason.
After 2013, it appeared Kelly had his quarterback in Foles. The second-year quarterback was terrific after taking over for Michael Vick, throwing for 27 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes. However, Foles was erratic this season, going for 13 scores, 10 picks and a completion percentage of 59.8. Even more distressing were his horrendous mechanics at times, throwing without good lower-body movement.
With Foles’ future in question, it begs the question; does Kelly go for Marcus Mariota in the NFL Draft?
Mariota was the quarterback under Kelly at the University of Oregon before he left for the Eagles. Of course, nobody is more versed in Kelly’s system than the Hawaiian. Mariota would be able to come in and immediately start for Philadelphia, at least from a mental standpoint.
The problem is where Mariota is projected to be drafted and where the Eagles are slated to draft. Most draft experts are projecting Mariota to be taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Tennessee Titans at the first or second spot, respectively. Even if Mariota slips past those two teams, there are plenty of other quarterback-needy teams between the third pick and Philadelphia, which is sitting at 20th overall.
The New York Jets, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans are all in the mix for a quarterback. For Philadelphia to jump the Jets, who are sitting at the sixth-overall selection, it would take a boatload of talent and picks. If Kelly wants to make that move without giving up quality players, he would likely need to include a future first-round pick, 2015’s first rounder, and then a second and third round selection. It would be a massive price, but one Kelly might consider if he believes Mariota is the answer to the Eagles’ championship drought.
If Kelly would consider putting talented players in the mix, he could save next year’s first-round pick. Kelly would want to include Foles in the deal if the team he is trading with needs a quarterback. From there, Kelly could package a player like Jordan Matthews to get the deal done.
It will certainly be interesting as the rumors only continue to heat up as we approach April 30.
