An Argument for the Eagles to Trade for Marcus Mariota

Jan 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly (left) and quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) celebrate after the 2013 Fiesta Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at University of Phoenix Stadium. Oregon defeated Kansas 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Before moving back into the Philadelphia area, I worked for a sports news outlet in the Washington D.C. area. The worst-kept secret in the months leading up to the 2012 Draft was that the Washington Redskins were going to do everything in their power to make a big leap in the draft to try to acquire the services of either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III. When it became a foregone conclusion that Luck would not fall past the Indianapolis Colts, all of the focus shifted toward the Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor.

I can still remember seeing Washington coach Mike Shanahan essentially flirting with the charismatic signal caller at his Pro Day. Between his scintillating demonstration, aired on national TV, with his Baylor receivers to his athletic prowess displayed at the combine, RG3 was the savior Washington needed and worth the hefty bounty it would take to get him.

Sure enough, Washington pulled the trigger on the trade with the Rams in the days leading up to the draft. The price? Swapping 1st round picks (6th overall for 2nd overall), a 2012 2nd round pick, a 2013 1st round pick, and a 2014 1st round pick. The return? The most dynamic athletic prospect to play the quarterback position since Michael Vick with a polished passing game and creative offensive mind to go with it.

Honestly, one will never know if Washington made the right move. In a late season win over the Ravens, Griffin III was injured by Baltimore’s Haloti Ngata causing him to miss the second-to-last game of the season. RG3 returned to lead Washington to a division-clinching win over the Cowboys in week 17 sending his team to the playoffs.

In their postseason showdown with the Seattle Seahawks, Griffin III led Washington to a 14-0 lead on their first two drives. As the ill-effects of Griffin III’s late-season injury combined with the prolific Seahawk defense started to wear down the Washington offense, Seattle crept back into the contest. After falling behind for the first time in the game, RG3 took over deep in his own territory needing a touchdown to even the score back up.

Jan 6, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) reacts after getting injured during the fourth quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

As the eventual NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year gimped onto the field, it was clear he was in no shape to play. He was sacked on the first play from scrimmage with very little attempt at escaping. On 2nd and long, Griffin III was unable to handle the shotgun snap. As he reached down for the ball, RG3’s injured knee gave way and he crumbled to the FedEx Field grass. Going down with Griffin III was the hopes of a franchise who had mortgaged the future of their franchise to land the player they hoped would bring them back to national prominence. It has been over a season and a half since RG3’s injury in the playoff game against the Seahawks. Griffin III has recaptured the brilliance of his rookie year fleetingly and has struggled more than he has succeeded.

If one were to ask Washington owner Dan Snyder whether he would approve the initial trade for Robert Griffin III knowing what he knows now, he probably would say yes. Snyder is generally viewed as one of the most stubborn, clueless owners in sports and, given the commercial success of Griffin III during the 2012 season, Snyder would probably convince himself it was still the smart decision. What Snyder did not realize at the time was that the Redskins were a team that was not built up enough to sell off potential impact draft picks in order to draft a quarterback. Had they remained at their original spot in the draft, they could have drafted Ryan Tannehill and continued to build up a young roster that would most likely be in a much better position than they are now.

The Washington franchise will most likely never achieve the success with Robert Griffin III playing quarterback that they envisioned as they watched him almost single-handedly lead them to a division title. Mike Shanahan lost his job because of his handling of Griffin III and now new head coach Jay Gruden is forced to deal with a quarterback conundrum that could derail his first NFL head coaching job before he can ever gain any sort of traction. Though the St. Louis Rams are not exactly lighting the world on fire with their level of success, they appear to be trending in somewhat better of a direction than their 2012 trade partners.

In recent weeks, mostly due to the mediocre-at-best performance of quarterback Nick Foles in the weeks leading up to his potentially season-ending injury against the Texans, some have speculated as to whether the Eagles should attempt to execute a similar transaction for the 2015 Draft. Many see the upcoming QB class as one that contains a couple of franchise-altering options that appear to be the key to the type of success that has escaped the Philadelphia franchise in the Super Bowl Era. The gem of the class, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, happens to have some familiarity with the guy calling the shots for the Eagles.

NFL draft picks are extremely important given what the game has become. The Seahawks demonstrated last season that overall team depth and talent outweigh individual prowess and the most successful teams are the ones that can pack as much skill into their 53-man roster as the salary cap lets them. The easiest way to do this is by hitting on as many draft picks as possible and instilling a mindset from the moment they arrive at rookie camp. Because of this, what Washington did to acquire Robert Griffin III was short-sighted and, frankly, irresponsible consider where they were as a franchise and who possessed the power from a personnel standpoint.

In a perfect world, Nick Foles would have continued the progression he showed in 2013 into his first full season as a starter, remained healthy, and brought the Chip Kelly offense to new heights. Instead, Foles regressed to the mean, developed some startling habits, and has now suffered a significant injury for the third time in as many seasons. Unless he leads them to a berth in the Super Bowl, it’s tough to imagine the Eagles would peg Mark Sanchez as their franchise quarterback given his age and potential price tag.

If there is one thing Philadelphia has working for them in their current situation, it’s that they have a gem of a coach in Chip Kelly. Schematics and football acumen aside, Kelly understands the value of fostering a winning culture throughout his locker room. Between his practice style that gives each member of the team substantial repetitions to his emphasis on all three phases of the game, Kelly has forged a product on the field that has yielded a 17-9 regular season record. For all of the bashing of the initial hire and the national media’s insistence that Kelly’s ‘college coaching’ style would not translate to the NFL, the former Oregon coach appears very much suited for the game’s highest level.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Eagles’ success under Kelly is how the team has been built. Kelly’s two draft classes to date have not exactly yielded the type of young impact players one would have hoped for considering the coach’s familiarity with the college crop. Of the 2013 class, only Lane Johnson, Bennie Logan, and Zach Ertz make any sort of noticeable impact on the field. Earl Wolff was at one time a promising safety prospect, but appears to have fallen out of favor with the current regime. Matt Barkley seems destined to hold a clipboard for his entire career and the picks after him (Jordan Poyer, David King, and Joe Kruger) are mere afterthoughts. As for the 2014 class (gulp), the criticism of first round pick Marcus Smith started right away. The linebacker out of Louisville has yet to record any sort of stat in the six games he has been active in. The organization does not seem to know whether his future will be on the inside or outside. Either way, Smith’s inability to make his presence known, even as a rookie, is somewhat troubling. Second round pick Jordan Matthews looks to be a primary fixture in Kelly’s offense for years to come. Very few people have any concerns over the wide receiver from Vanderbilt. Third round pick Josh Huff looks like he is ironing out the type of growing pains that are more common with rookie receivers. Tough to imagine the team doing anything drastic with him just yet. After that, only 7th round pick Beau Allen has made any sort of impact on the field this season. Defensive back Jaylen Watkins seems to be a player the team wants to groom for the future, but will do so by keeping him off the field. Taylor Hart consistently joins Watkins on the weekly inactives list and safety Ed Reynolds is a member of the team’s practice squad. Basically, the Eagles have not drafted particularly well under Kelly so far.

Usually, back-to-back drafts that produce such little on-the-field talent is a recipe for disaster. Instead, the Eagles are a rare case where carryovers from the prior regime, free agents, and players acquired in trades fit together in a way that makes for a strong locker room and winning culture. What’s more interesting is that the Eagles have gone out of their way to avoid the big-ticket free agents (Jairus Byrd, T.J. Ward) and marquee trade candidates (Darrelle Revis). The players acquired during the Kelly regime, save for maybe Darren Sproles, are all of the ‘underwhelming’ variety. That said, the Eagles appear to take into account intangibles such as versatility, leadership, and flexibility when it comes to additions on the roster. The result has been a professional environment that seems to deal with the ebbs and flows of an NFL season much better than other teams constructed in such a manner. (2011 Eagles)

An NFL locker room can be as tightly knit as an organization hopes for, but there are certain requirements for success in the current league that have become gospel. The Eagles have checked off most of those boxes and that is why they are currently one of the better teams in the NFL. However, they were reminded Sunday, in embarrassing fashion I might add, just how glaring the one box they do not have checked is.

Nov 16, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The ‘franchise quarterback’ has become the white whale of professional sports. The few teams that are lucky enough to have one, despite having weaker overall rosters than the Eagles, still seem that much closer to the ultimate goal. On the other hand, the teams that do not have one all seem destined for a promising road that ends with the harsh reality that they will never capture the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl. One has to look on further than Sunday’s game against the Packers to see what having a franchise quarterback does for a team. One would imagine that, outside of the quarterback position, many would stack up the two teams’ rosters fairly evenly. My own personal bias aside, I would even tilt the scales slightly in the favor of the Eagles. No matter how well-built the Eagles are, however, one cannot conjure an Aaron Rodgers out of thin air. Rodgers is the standard right now for the franchise quarterback and the Eagles got a first-hand look at what having a player of his quality can do for a team that focuses so much of their resources on the position.

The Packers were in such a position with Rodgers that they could bring him along slowly during the tail-end of Brett Favre’s career. Rodgers was an elite prospect coming out of California, but saw his name tumble on draft boards in lieu of Utah’s Alex Smith. Whether the spurn of all the franchises that passed on him fueled Rodgers to become the player he is today does not change the fact that he has become arguably the best quarterback in the NFL and figures to stay that way for some time.

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Sunday showed that, while Chip Kelly is as limited a commodity as a franchise quarterback is in today’s NFL, there is a ceiling to how far a coach can take a team. For as great a coach as Bill Belichick is for the Patriots, he probably would not be a three-time Super Bowl winner without future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. The coach and his relegation to the sideline is the reason that there is a limit to just how much he can impact what happens on the field. Coaches like Chip Kelly do not come along too often. One would have to argue that it is in the Eagles best interest to provide their coach with anything and everything they could to best position him to take advantage of his penchant for the game. To this point, they have done that in every area except for the most important one.

The Eagles roster is not one where you look down 2-3 years and figure that time to be their ‘window’. The bulk of this group is ready to win now and one cannot tell how long their ‘prime’ will last. Considering the Eagles struggles in the first two drafts with Kelly at the helm, one can’t imagine that things will get better once some of the team’s older players start to break down. The next two years are most likely the only years where the core of this team can legitimately contend for a Super Bowl before the front office is forced to turn things over. Because of this being the case, I feel there is a strong argument to be made to pull the trigger on a drastic trade to draft the quarterback that can take this team to the next level.

Nov 8, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) warms up prior to the game against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Oregon won 51-27. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Since Kelly left Oregon for the NFL, he has remained linked to his former quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota was a redshirt freshman during the one year he was the starter for Kelly’s Ducks, but still commanded Kelly’s offense in brilliant fashion (32 passing touchdowns, 5 rushing, 3,429 all-purpose yards) en route to a resounding Fiesta Bowl win in the coach’s final game at the college level. Mariota has continued to progress as both a passer and a prospect while losing just four total games in three years as a starter. He is the odds on favorite to be named this season’s Heisman trophy winner and could very well be the first quarterback selected in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Mostly due to the ripple effect of the Nick Foles injury, experts have weighed in on the inevitable and perhaps eternal link between Mariota and Kelly. Even more than Johnny Manziel last year, scouts and analysts alike have dubbed the Oregon quarterback to be a ‘perfect fit’ for the NFL’s version of Kelly’s offense and would be able to step in immediately and lead it more effectively than any of his predecessors.

"“Moving up and mortgaging your future for a receiver does not make sense, but I’d do it for a quarterback,” a general manager from another team told ESPN.com. “I don’t know if Mariota would be worth it, but he might be for Chip (Kelly) because the hardest part at quarterback is the learning curve. Mariota would be seamless in Philadelphia.”"

Obviously, it’s impossible to project a college quarterback to the NFL given the intangibles required to play the position. I shudder at how many people lost their jobs for the selections of the Ryan Leafs and Rick Mirers of the world. If there has been one criticism of Mariota, though it is very much without foundation, it is that he does not have the X-factor or charisma that the greats do. For anyone who has watched Oregon this season, he has led the team to a comeback win over one of the nation’s best defenses in Michigan State, he put the questions of whether he could beat Stanford to rest, and could help his team reach the first ever College Football Playoff. I don’t have any background in scouting, but it doesn’t take an expert to know that it requires more than scheme and natural talent to accomplish those things.

As it stands, the 7-3 Eagles would hold a pick in the late 20s of the 2015 draft. From a winning percentage standpoint, they are the 28th from the top of the order. Washington was slated to draft 6th overall when they parlayed a king’s ransom into the 2nd overall pick that would eventually become Robert Griffin III. There’s little question that one’s eyes would roll at the price it would cost for the Eagles to jump up and grab Mariota with what would most likely be a top-5 selection. Many have speculated that they would have to include a player, perhaps LeSean McCoy, in addition to the bounty of picks required for such a move.

Personally, I wanted Nick Foles to be the guy for this team moving forward. He would have allowed the team to continue to allocate resources elsewhere and build a product that would most likely contend for years to come. At this point, however, I cannot have faith that a quarterback who has missed significant time due to injury all three years of his professional career and was showing bad habits before his most recent one is the answer. The only certainty with the Eagles right now is that they have a coach whose innovation has transformed a dysfunctional situation into a first place team. Just imagine how much further Chip Kelly could take the Eagles if he had EXACTLY the quarterback he wanted to run his offense.

Would it really hurt that much giving up first and second round picks for, at the very least, the next two drafts? The Eagles haven’t drafted particularly well under Kelly anyway and have ‘hit’ on free agents and trades at an impressive clip. Acquiring a rookie quarterback would keep their salary cap situation very manageable and make Philadelphia an even more attractive destination for free agents on the market. Mariota would be arriving to an offensive line with several pro-bowl caliber players with the type of athleticism and ability to highlight his skills while keeping him protected, for the most part. He would have at his disposal, at the very least, a receiving corps that should include Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews, a young tight end in Zach Ertz, and whatever the team decides to do at the running back position. Most importantly, he would be re-united with the coach that launched his career as the most prolific and stable quarterback that Oregon has seen during their current period of prominence. By making the move to acquire Mariota, the Eagles would be telling the veterans on their roster that they are going for it.

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles, much like all the other Philadelphia teams it would seem, have a knack for being bad at the wrong time. Had the ‘Dream Team’ not won their last four games of the 2011 season, maybe it would have been the Eagles kicking the tires on a trade for Robert Griffin III. Instead, their year at the top of the draft did not see a quarterback selected until 16th overall (E.J. Manuel anyone?). This year’s team could lose the rest of their games and still not be in position to select an ‘elite’ quarterback prospect. One does not know how long Chip Kelly and his magic will remain in Philadelphia. Kelly’s name will never escape the rumors of a return to college and the longer he is forced into a situation where he cannot recruit the quarterback he desires, the longer those rumblings will persist. The Eagles have captured something special with their current group and, with how they’ve trended through almost two seasons, have to imagine this is their next best chance to contend for a Super Bowl. Unless they want to keep being reminded, in the form of beatdowns at the hands of the Aaron Rodgers of the world, that they are incapable of doing so without a premiere talent playing quarterback, this is a move they have to consider. The Eagles took a major risk signing Kelly as head coach in the first place. At this point, with their bankroll built back up, it’s time to once again push their chips in the middle and give Kelly the ace-in-the-hole prospect that he needs to make the Eagles investment in him a success.

Do you want to see the Eagles mortgage the future to acquire Marcus Mariota?

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Mortgage for Mariota: An Argument for the Eagles Trading Up for the Oregon Quarterback

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