Should It Be Marcus Mariota Or Build The Football Team?

A chance still exists for the Eagles to move up and draft Marcus Mariota, but it’s not likely.  I personally don’t think it would be a good idea for the Birds to trade three first round draft picks, and players like Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks in order to move up to draft the Oregon Ducks’ Heisman Trophy winner.

Yes, you do need outstanding quarterback play to win the Super Bowl, but you also need to improve the secondary, fill holes in the offensive line and add speed and talent to the wide receiver group.   It would make no sense for the Eagles to gut their team for the sake of getting Mariota then be without the talent to surround him.  This youngster can’t win a Super Bowl by himself.  In case you missed it, he wasn’t able to lead The Ducks to a NCAA Championship with the talent around him at Oregon.

I think there’s a lot better chance of the Eagles trading back in the first round rather than trading up.  Both Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and the team’s Player Personnel Director Ed Marynowitz have said a lot about their evaluation of this draft. If anything they said they want more picks.

“There are certain, probably eight to 10 players at the top end that are true difference-maker-type, quality individuals”, Marynowitz said. “At that next tier of guys where you’re going to have solid starter level players, I think there is depth at the offensive line. I think there is certainly depth at wide receiver and at the corner-safety position. So it’s a good draft in the mid-round in that solid-starter category for those guys.”

I agree with their assessment which means there are plenty of players with solid starter level talent in the second, third and fourth rounds.  I would have no problem with the Eagles trading back in round one to pick up additional, second, third, or fourth round picks this year.

The Birds need help in the areas where there’s depth at in this draft.  Their offensive line lost starting right guard Todd Herremans and will probably lose starting left guard Pro Bowler Evan Mathis as well.  They need to draft at least one offensive lineman this year that is capable of coming here and starting.

The wide receiver position is very deep again and the Eagles are desperate for more size, talent and speed at their wide receiver position.  I could see them grabbing two wide outs, if they get the chance.

“I’ve watched draft classes for a long time. And, yes, the one last year was very good. I think this has the chance to be the best draft class certainly I’ve ever seen,” NBC’s Cris Collinsworth told USA Today.  “I couldn’t believe how many receivers I watched and thought they were first-round talent. I got down to about 11 players that I thought had first-round ability.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some team that needed wide receivers took two — took one in the first round and one in the second round. You could set yourself up for a number of years,” said Collinsworth.

Think about all the names on this wide receiver list:  Alabama’s Amari Cooper, West Virginia’s Kevin White, Louisville’s DeVante Parker, Oklahoma’s Dorial Green-Beckham, Miami’s Phillip Dorsett, USC’s Nelson Agholor, Central Florida’s Breshad Perrimen, Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong, Ohio State’s Devin Smith, Georgia’s Chris Conley and Auburn’s Sammie Coates.

The other spot they have need in is in the secondary and they’re looking for versatile defensive backs who can play both the safety and cornerback positions.

“A guy that can play corner and safety may be a little bit more valuable than a guy that can only play safety”, Marynowitz. “But that’s with 53 man value, 46 man game-day value, the more you can do, the more valuable you are.”

There are a number of draft prospects who fit the bill such as:  UConn’s Byron Jones, Utah’s Eric Rowe,  Miami of Ohio’s Quinten Rollins and USC’s Josh Shaw.  Jones will go early, Rowe could be a great selection in the second or third round, Rollins could be a late bloomer but Shaw is likely to be around on Saturday and will be a great value pick. His suspension for most of the season in 2014 could stop the Birds from picking him.

Green-Beckham would be an ideal choice for the Birds, but his off the field issues will stop the Birds from selecting him.  Washington’s Marcus Peters could have been the Birds selection, but his character problems will force the Birds to pass.  Shaw will likely be avoided by the Birds because of the incident that caused him to be suspended from the team a year ago.

The Eagles draft board is smaller than most of the teams in the league because of their refusal to deal with players who have off the field problems and their commitment to drafting players who fit their size, speed and intelligence profile.