The Philadelphia Eagles need to keep Trey Lance on their radar

Jan 11, 2020; Frisco, Texas, USA; North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance (5) celebrates winning the game against the James Madison Dukes at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2020; Frisco, Texas, USA; North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance (5) celebrates winning the game against the James Madison Dukes at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia Eagles sent two coaches to Trey Lance‘s pro day – that’s good news! Regardless of how you feel about the highly regarded North Dakota State gunslinger, it’s always smart for teams to perform their due diligence when selecting towards the top of the NFL Draft.

With that said, the Eagles would also be wise to make Lance a serious option when it comes to the sixth overall pick.

Now I’m fully aware of the bad optics that come with hypothetically drafting Lance. The Eagles just shuttled one North Dakota State quarterback out of the building in Carson Wentz, and bringing in another (who is friends with Wentz!) would make everyone feel super uncomfortable. Throw in the fact that a good number of coaches/players associated with the Eagles are supposedly “all-in” on second-year player Jalen Hurts, and the organization could easily be staring down yet another quarterback controversy.

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To put it bluntly: none of that stuff matters. If the Philadelphia Eagles feel they can get themselves a future franchise quarterback in Lance, they simply need to pull the trigger. Any awkward conversations regarding Lance and the fact that he happened to attend the same school as Wentz need to be abandoned – it simply isn’t that relevant.

Standing in at 6-3, 225lbs Lance possesses all the traits you could ask for in a 20 year old prospect. He’s big, he’s fast, he has a monster arm, and he has a collegiate season under his belt where he didn’t throw a single interception. He massively impressed during his pro day on Friday, leaving scouts believing that he could be selected as early as the top-five in this year’s NFL Draft.

Lance being snagged in the top-five (or even in the top-three should a team trade up for him via Miami) would obviously make the Eagles decision for them, but if the high-upside quarterback is still available by the time Philly is on the clock in the first-round, they should think long and hard about “starting over” with a new potential franchise star.

As much as some fans want to “see what the team has” in Jalen Hurts, that type of logic also shouldn’t really be employed in this specific situation. Not only is quarterback the most important position on the football field, but the opportunity to improve at said position is essentially priceless. The LA Rams just gave up a haul to go from Jared Goff to Mathew Stafford (a player who’s made just one Pro Bowl) – don’t underestimate how much NFL front offices value upgrading their QB room.

Even if the Philadelphia Eagles view Hurts as a starting-caliber quarterback moving forward, the decision to hypothetically select Lance at #6  should be an easy one. Assuming the team’s scouts have Lance pinned as a future Pro Bowler (he was compared to Josh Allen after his pro day by at least one scout!), then drafting him should be a no-brainer.

The Philadelphia Eagles need to continue scouting Trey Lance.

If the Eagles pass on Lance, and he ends up dominating on another QB-needy NFC team like the Bears or the Football Team, it’ll be viewed as one of the biggest blunders in Howie Roseman’s mistake-filled GM career.

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Forget all the North Dakota State stuff for a second, Lance is a prospect who deserves every ounce of the Eagles’ attention over the next couple of weeks.