In the 2015 NFL Draft there are basically two quarterbacks and then everyone else. One is Jameis Winston from FSU and the other is Marcus Mariota from Oregon. Mariota was recruited by and played for Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly when Kelly was the head coach at Oregon. Well, it just so happens the Eagles need a franchise quarterback and Kelly has made it know he'd like to go after Mariota. So what would it take for the Eagles to land him and would it be worth it?
Unfortunately for the Eagles, the precedent has already been set for what it would take to move up and get a top quarterback. In 2012 there were two quarterbacks who were thought to be a cut above the rest, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. The Washington Redskins wanted one of them but was sitting at the sixth overall pick where they knew they had no chance of landing either. The St. Louis Rams sat at number two overall and weren’t in the market for a quarterback. Once the Indianapolis Colts took Luck first overall, the Redskins knew they had to trade up with the Rams to obtain Griffin. What did they have to pay just to move up four spots? The Redskins had to give up their 2012 first-round pick (6th overall), 2013 first-round pick, 2014 first-round pick, and their second-round pick in 2012.
Anyone the Eagles might look to trade with knows the price the Redskins paid to move up four spots. What they also know is that Chip Kelly has made it known he wants Mariota so any potential trade partner knows they have all the bargaining power to drive the price up. Come draft day I can’t see Mariota dropping past the New York Jets sitting at sixth overall. This means the Eagles would have to trade in front of them to Washington at fifth overall. Since Washington is a divisional rival of Philadelphia, I find it hard to believe the Eagles would be willing to give the Redskins a king’s ransom. So the Eagles would be trading with the Oakland Raiders at fourth overall.
According to the draft value chart, the fourth overall pick is worth 1,800. The 20th overall pick is worth 850. Just on those values alone, the Eagles could trade all eight of their picks in the 2015 draft and still fall short. Obviously they wouldn’t trade an entire draft class, which means they’d likely trade 2015 first-round pick, 2016 first-round pick, 2017 first-round pick, 2015 second-round pick, and either their 2015 third-round pick or 2016 second-round pick.
A trade of this magnitude would be to completely and totally mortgage your franchise on a player who hasn’t proven anything yet in the NFL and who isn’t even an absolute lock. There isn’t a single player currently in the NFL I would give up three first-round picks for let alone someone who hasn’t played a single game yet. Everyone sees Mariota as a perfect fit in Chip Kelly’s system and it’s easy to connect the dots from Mariota to Kelly, it just doesn’t make sense for Kelly to make it so well known who he wants in the draft. It seems silly to tip your hand that much and to give away any bargaining power they might’ve had. Unless Mariota falls fairly close to where the Eagles currently sit in the draft, they’ll have to give up a boatload of assets to land the young quarterback. They have too many holes on that roster to give up that much for one person. They won ten games in 2014 with Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez as their starting quarterbacks. If they can improve the defense they won’t need substantially better quarterback play to improve their record and make the playoffs.