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NFL Free agency hasn't even started, and yet the Philadelphia Eagles have been wheeling and dealing more than many teams will in the entire offseason.
It's clear Chip Kelly is hell bent on constructing his team the way he wants it, and a big part of that includes his former Oregon Ducks. He just traded an All-Pro running to get arguably the best defender he ever coached in college, and now he could be on the verge of getting the best signal-caller he ever had.
According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly is still making a strong push to move up in the draft to acquire Oregon QB Marcus Mariota.
"The trade didn't come as a complete surprise. Those close to McCoy believed that he was on the block but that he would be involved in Kelly's attempt to move up in the draft for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Instead, the running back will end up being part of a swap for another Duck.
"Rumblings that the Eagles coach will do whatever it takes to get Mariota persist, and some sources around the league believe a trade with one of the teams with a high draft pick could be on the horizon."
Currently sitting at pick No. 20, Philly is going to have to move up at least 15 spots to secure Mariota, as it's hard to see him falling past the Jets at No. 6. That means They'll probably be giving up at least two first-round picks to move up in addition to a player and more picks.
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As for who the next best QB is after Mariota and Winston, it's been thought to be UCLA's Brett Hundley for quite some time. Since he opted to return to college for his junior season, Hundley was viewed as the No 3 QB prospect in this draft, but that might be changing.
That's apparently changed, as ESPN's Adam Caplan notes:
Heard same at combine. RT @jawsespn: In office talking to @gregcosell about the #NFLCombine. Clear to me that QB Bryce Petty was the #3 guy.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 2, 2015
The thing is, neither of the two guys will go in the first round, and there's a decent chance Petty and Hundley don't hear their names called until Round 3 or later. This could end up like the 2013 draft, where after the first round, there were only two signal-callers taken in Rounds 2 and 3 combined.
To say this isn't a deep QB class is a big understatement.