The Philadelphia Eagles' interest in Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota has been well documented. Head coach Chip Kelly is known to want to reunite with his star college quarterback. But to do so, the Eagles will have to make a big move up the draft board as they currently sit at No. 20. That's where the Washington Redskins come in.
In his latest mock draft, Peter King of MMQB.com projected the Eagles to trade their first- and second-round picks this year, along with their first- and fourth-round picks in 2016 to the Redskins for the fifth overall pick this year.
"Washington could be moving from five to 20 in the first round by doing this deal, with GM Scot McCloughan scoring points with his new boss for not giving away the store in a trade, but rather acquiring the store," King wrote. "This has so many poetic points to it. The Eagles gave Donovan McNabb to Washington a few Easters ago; now Washington would be giving a longer-term quarterback, theoretically, to Chip Kelly. The Eagles coach would be reunited with the quarterback he recruited out of a Hawaii high school and helped make a star while both were at Oregon. It just feels right, though Howie Roseman will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into giving up so much draft capital for a player with some question marks."
Although King makes a compelling case, this deal is not a slam dunk. For starters, would Washington really be interested in helping a division rival potentially find its franchise quarterback? Additionally, are the Redskins really getting enough in return for such a move, as currently proposed by King? ESPN Redskins reporter John Keim doesn't think so.
"But is it enough when you consider the player the Eagles would be drafting, quarterback Marcus Mariota, might end up beating you for years?" Keim wrote. "If you are going to help a rival, you might as well extract more. If I'm the Redskins and I like Mariota, I'd struggle with the idea of helping out a division rival."
Although the deal is in line with previous blockbusters - 2012's trade for RGIII included - the Redskins may be better served trying to rope another team into trading up for Mariota. Falling out of the top 10 decreases Washington's chances of landing an elite player and while the Skins have a litany of needs, acquiring difference makers should be the primary goal.
"What the Redskins really would need is another team that is interested in Mariota - perhaps if St. Louis, at No. 10, unloads Sam Bradford it could enter the picture," Keim wrote.
