Philadelphia Eagles: Easton Stick could be a Draft day trade target

If the Los Angeles Chargers land their quarterback of the future in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles should pull off a draft day trade for Easton Stick.

I have a theory about the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 2019 draft plans.

I think going into Day 3, the Birds fully intended on selecting a quarterback to develop behind Carson Wentz as an eventual heir to Nate Sudfeld. Sounds obvious, right, especially with a former NFL quarterback locked in as the team’s head coach? Well, I’ll go right ahead and take my theory one step further.

I firmly believe the Eagles had one quarterback pegged above all other Day 3 options as their ideal long-term backup to Wentz: Easton Stick.

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Wentz’s college backup and long-time friend, Stick put on a show in 2018 during his lone-season as North Dakota State‘s starting quarterback – completing 219 of his 357 passes for 3,363 yards with a 33-12 touchdown to interception ratio. Stick then further cemented his case as a draftable NFL quarterback with a solid combine highlighted by a blazing 4.61 40 yard dash.

Had Stick been gifted a more NFL-approved body type from the football gods, as the then-23-year-old only stands 6-foot-1, 224 pounds, he very well may have garnered consideration as a mid-round pick, but going into Day 3, he looked like a borderline draftable player at best.

Music to Howie Roseman‘s ears.

With only three picks going into the day, Roseman selected Penn State product Shareef Miller 138th-overall and then sat patiently for his next selection, 167th overall.

*sigh* if only he lasted that long.

With mere minutes left before they went on the clock, the Los Angeles Chargers swooped in and selected Stick 166th overall, to serve as a third-string option behind Philip Rivers and Tyrod Taylor; forcing the Eagles to look elsewhere for a developmental quarterback.

They ultimately went with Northwestern‘s Clayton Thorson, a 6-foot-4, 222-pound ‘pocket-passer’ who didn’t even make the team out of training camp. Thorson was so bad that the Eagles didn’t even offer him a spot on their practice squad, instead offering a spot to ex-New York Giants‘ fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta.

Stick, on the other hand, actually made the Chargers’ roster after a solid set of preseason showings, even if he didn’t appear in a game during his rookie season.

I know it’s just a theory, but it kind of tracks, right? Would you like to hear another?

I think if the Chargers end up drafting a top-tier quarterback in the first or even second round of the 2020 NFL Draft – or they opt to sign Cam Newton – the Eagles could potentially pry Stick away from LA for a conditional future seventh-round pick.

While the Chargers may still look favorably on Stick for his experience in their scheme, he will at best be third on their depth chart going into the 2020 season, and may even be fourth depending on how things shake out. Anthony Lynn and company will all but surely turn their attention to preparing their new quarterback, with Taylor serving as an on-field mentor, and Stick’s role would be relegated to nothing more than a camp arm.

Players like that are almost always available but are seldom traded for because they aren’t particularly valuable.

Stick may be the rare case where trading for a third-string quarterback is actually worth it.

First and foremost, adding Stick would give the Eagles a long-term developmental backup quarterback. Sudfeld may be the team’s number two in 2020, but I highly doubt the team wants to commit any real money to the Indiana product on a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal – instead taking a page from Andy Reid‘s book and developing a new youngster every other year or so.

Stick and Wentz already have chemistry from their shared time in NDSU’s quarterback room, so the former’s transition into Doug Pederson‘s scheme would be borderline seamless if reunited.

But wait, there’s more.

At NDSU, Stick was beyond effective on designated runs and could be highly effective as a distributor in the RPO-heavy scheme Pederson crafted for Nick Foles‘ point guard playing style. If the Eagles want to spice up their offense with some Taysom Hill-esque change of pass action at the quarterback position, Stick could conceivably fill that role as 2020s answer to the Wildcat quarterback. Maybe even put the duo on the field at the same time, Baltimore Ravens-style, and try some new, Philly Special-type plays.

Stick ran the ball 427 times for 2,523 yards and 41 touchdowns over his four years at North Dakota, so he’s a more than capable of being a jack-of-all-trades offensive weapon active week in and week out on game days.

Or, you know, Stick could just stand on the sideline, hold a clipboard, and serve as a shoulder to lean on as Wentz attempts to record only his third 16-game season as a pro. There’s value in that too.

Next. Jason Kelce’s retirement is right around the corner. dark

After whiffing on Clayton Thorson in the worst way in 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles should really identify a young signal-caller that they would like to groom behind Carson Wentz moving forward. While some players, like Hawaii‘s Cole McDonald or my fellow UCLA Bruin Josh Rosen, may have higher upside, trading an inconsequential pick and/or a player for Easton Stick would give the Birds a solid number two with some fun trick play upside.

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