The Philadelphia Eagles could look at a Marcus Mariota trade in the NFL draft this year, as Chip Kelly has power over personnel moves and would love to link up with his former Oregon QB, as he could be the perfect option over Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez to run the offense and this comes as Jeremy Maclin is hitting free agency and LeSean McCoy could be on his way out in 2015.
Kelly and the Eagles have the chance to make a big move in the draft in 2015 and while it will take a big package to move up, Kelly now has the power to decide. According to ESPN.com, after the removal of Tom Gamble from the front office, Kelly was put in charge of player personnel decisions, while Howie Roseman was promoted from general manager to vice president of football operations. The report said that Roseman will now work the business side, while Kelly will have more control over personnel.
Andrew Brandt and Peter King have described Kelly as the most valuable asset to any team over the past few years that isn't a player or draft pick and that is because of what he does as a coach. Kelly has a scheme that he wants to run and because of how unique that scheme is, he needs players that fit and it isn't always the "best" players at each position. Brandt wrote at the MMQB.com after the front office shuffling that Kelly has the chance to make major moves this offseason.
While the team has numerous holes on both sides of the ball and could use the draft to fill that, Kelly may look at Mariota as the best option to run his offense. Jameis Winston could be the number one overall pick for the Buccaneers and if that happens, expect the Eagles to call the Titans about their number two pick. If Mariota somehow moves past the Titans, Raiders, Jaguars and Redskins, the Jets will likely take him, but there is a good chance the Eagles or someone else trades up before that happens.
Mariota has the perfect skill set to run Kelly's offense and Tony Kornheiser on PTI said that if Kelly thinks Mariota is the "best" QB to run his offense he shouldn't worry about what he has to give up and should make the trade. The Eagles have all of the draft picks coming in and with LeSean McCoy in the backfield, they could have the assets to make a deal. At ESPN.com Eagles reported Phil Sheridan looked into the idea of trading for Mariota and he sees a number of positives in making the deal, even with what the Eagles would have to give up. Kelly did not draft Foles and was not "sold" on him last season, but after getting injured Kelly had no choice but to turn to Mark Sanchez.
Kelly drafted Matt Barkley, but he doesn't see him as a starter and Sheridan writes that Chip Kelly would "minimize" the risk of drafting Mariota. Sheridan writes that there is no guarantee that Mariota will be successful in the NFL, but writes that with Kelly calling the shots, he surely would have a better chance than with some other teams. The Eagles have won 20 games over the past two seasons and with the way Kelly runs his offense, he could easily find another back like McCoy to take over if he trades him to move up in the draft.
