The Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t come together on a deal that would have landed Philadelphia Marcus Mariota during the draft last season.
This despite the fact that then Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly reportedly offered Tennessee the house to move up to the No. 2 overall pick.
One year later, there could potentially be something to the Eagles once again engaging in trade-up talks with Tennessee for a quarterback.
One executive from a rival NFC team firmly believes that Philadelphia will do what it can to move up and acquire former North Dakota State signal caller Carson Wentz in next month’s draft:
“Don’t be surprised if a team like the Eagles makes a really strong move up the board to get (Carson) Wentz. I don’t think he’s worth it, but I think they do,” the executive said, via NFL.com. “Everyone thinks you have to move ahead of Cleveland, but (Browns Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta) will want to get as many picks as possible out of this draft. It wouldn’t surprise me if a team moved directly to Cleveland’s spot for Wentz.”
There are a lot of different layers to this.
First off, the assumption leading up to the draft is that Cleveland will select a quarterback, likely Wentz, with the No. 2 overall pick. Its inability to acquire anyone of substance at quarterback on the free-agent market lends credence to this.
Secondly, a team moving up to No. 2 overall would likely guarantee itself the quarterback it views to be No. 1 overall in this class. It would also come with a cheaper bounty than moving up to the first pick.
Tennessee has absolutely no need for a quarterback with the top selection. Any team moving up to No. 2 would have to do so after the Titans make the first pick as way to assure another team doesn’t move up ahead of it in order to get said quarterback.
For their part, the Titans seem to be open to moving the first overall pick. Though, general manager Jon Robinson had indicated it would take a “king’s ransom” for the team to move down before later taking a walk back on that stance in public.
For the Eagles, there is definitely a need at quarterback. While the team did re-sign Sam Bradford prior to free agency, there’s no logical person in the front office that can view him as the long-term solution.
After re-signing Bradford earlier this month, Philadelphia then moved up from the 13th pick to No. 8 overall with the Miami Dolphins. That might put the team in position to acquire a top quarterback depending on how the draft plays out within the first seven picks.
One major thing potentially holding up a draft-day move is the fact that Philadelphia does not possess a second-round pick after trading this year’s selection to the then St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford last March.
A move up from No. 8 to one of the top two picks would require a lofty return. In this, the Eagles might have to part with a top-end veteran as well as a first rounder next year and some change in order to get a deal done.
As the executive said, Wentz simply might not be worth that type of a haul.