The NFL draft is less than a month away and Marcus Mariota is generating a ton of trade interest from teams, as the Tennessee Titans have the number two overall pick and teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers could be interested in trading up to get the quarterback.
The Buccaneers are expected to take Jameis Winston number one overall and that leaves Mariota as the next best target for teams in need of a QB. Mariota won the Heisman trophy last season and is coming off of a strong career at Oregon, but some scouts do not see him as a franchise player. According to Pro Football Talk, the NY Jets, Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers all could be in the mix to trade up for Mariota.
The Philadelphia Eagles have also been mentioned this offseason as a team that could potentially move up for Mariota. Head coach Chip Kelly worked with Mariota at Oregon and that is one of the main reasons why the team has been connected to the quarterback. Kelly has made some head scratching moves in the eyes of some people and that is why coaches around the league speculate he could move up for Mariota despite making trades already at the QB position.
Kelly traded away LeSean McCoy to the Bills and he also traded Nick Foles for Sam Bradford with the Rams. Kelly signed back Mark Sanchez and the team also has Matt Barkley, making it seem like the QB situation is settled. But recent reports have the team shopping Matt Barkley in a trade and ESPN reports that coaches around the league are skeptical that Kelly will not look into trading up for Mariota. Mariota appears to be a good fit for the offensive system Kelly runs and his moves this offseason have seeminly been about his scheme.
Kelly came out to the media and said that Bradford would not be used as a chip in another trade and he also added that the team will not "mortgage" the draft for one player. While all that adds up to the Eagles not making a move, Kelly has made some wild ones already this offseason and not even the athletic stores in Philly will stock players' jerseys until they know they are staying. Mariota is an exciting option and while it doesn't look like the Eagles will trade up, they will be in the mix until things end at the draft.
The Browns reportedly are interested in trading up for Mariota and they have the draft picks to make a deal happen if they want to. According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Mary Kay Cabot reports that the Browns may look at trading for Mariota or trying to pull off a deal with the Eagles for Sam Bradford. The Browns were interested in Bradford earlier in the offseason and they reportedly offered a first round pick to the Rams for him.
Mariota has also had interest from the Jets and the Chargers, who reportedly will work out Mariota later in the month ahead of the draft.
