The Philadelphia Eagles Should NOT Trade for Marcus Mariota
The Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly looking at possibilities to acquire Marcus Mariota in a blockbuster trade for the 2015 NFL Draft. Reuniting Chip Kelly with his former star pupil would definitely be intriguing, but it would be the wrong move to make.
While the Eagles are mulling over this decision, they need look no further than the standings of their own division. Two years after the Redskins gave up a multitude of first round picks to get Robert Griffin III, they finished the season 4-12 and are 7-25 over the past two seasons.
Griffin’s status as the starting quarterback is in doubt and the loss of those draft picks, including the second overall pick in last year’s draft, have set the Redskins back a couple of years. Their roster, specifically their defense is severely lacking talent and they could have used those first round picks to bolster a lackluster defense.
Eagles
Usually, blockbuster trades like this are made when a team is perceived to be “one player” away from being able to contend for a Super Bowl. The Falcons did this in 2011 when they selected Julio Jones and a year later they were a few yards away from their franchise’s second Super Bowl berth. Are these Eagles in the same boat as those Falcons?
Maybe.
Should they trade all the way up for a rookie quarterback expecting Mariota to lead them to the promise land?
Absolutely not.
Chip Kelly’s offense has been a success in in his two seasons in Philadelphia, and Mariota would be an ideal fit for his offense. However, Mariota has a slim chance of making it past the Jets at number six as they incorporate a new head coach and front office. The Eagles would have to trade with the Titans, Jaguars, Raiders, or Redskins in order to secure Mariota. Jumping from the 20th pick to a top 5 pick would require surrendering an enormous amount of draft picks and future first round choices to land Mariota.
The amount of resources the Eagles would have to send to one of these teams, who are all extremely devoid of talent, would be too much of an asking price to feasibly land Mariota.
While he would be a perfect fit with the Eagles, the asking price is simply going to be too high. There’s no reason to potentially set back future progress for the possibility that Marcus Mariota will be able to take them deep into the playoffs in the next couple of seasons.