It goes without saying that in the NFL there are limited resources at the disposal of coaches and GMs with which to add to, subtract from or altogether alter their respective rosters, hopefully for the better.
It's a major tenet of keeping the sport fair and balanced and helps increase the level of parity - without limited resources, smaller market teams would literally be crushed by the financial advantages of teams like Dallas and New York.
To that end, when people in and around the NFL discuss the potential for the Philadelphia Eagles to trade up in the 2015 NFL Draft and acquire former Oregon quarterback, Marcus Mariota, they do so with the caveat that any such deal comes with a hefty price.
Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice reported today that he continues to hear increasing whispers and inklings of the Eagles' determination to nab Mariota come April.
"Every day, with little things I hear, evidence continues to build that the Eagles are going to make a strong play for Marcus Mariota. To note, this is something I had previously thought to be unrealistic, so as bits of information have trickled in, they've been absorbed on my end with skepticism. But it appears the Eagles are determined to get their guy," Kempski writes.
Kempski did, indeed, initially approach the thought with a fair amount of amused incredulity.
As has been said here and plenty of other internet spaces already - you don't hire an innovative mind like Chip Kelly then place restrictions on his ability to acquire players he thinks he needs to acquire in order to be successful. Your hire him, give him the keys to the franchise and hope that he's actually as smart as he seems to be.
With backroom talk building and the likelihood - still farfetched, but potentially - increasing that Kelly makes a play for Mariota, the next logical step in the discussion is to determine the cost for such a draft day maneuver.
The price would, no doubt, include this year's first-round pick and perhaps next seasons, along with other picks and possibly players as well.
Which means the Eagles - already expected to make some noise in free agency due to their ample cap space and the change from former GM Howie Roseman to Kelly as personnel czar - will likely be big players once the NFL's marketplace opens in March.
"If the Eagles believe they can get a deal done for Mariota, it is going to cost them a boatload of draft picks, both this year and in the future. They're going to have to offset the loss of those picks with young players in free agency, which is going to be costly, but necessary," writes Kempski.
With major holes to fill in the secondary, at inside linebacker and on the offensive line, along with potential needs at wide receiver - depending on Jeremy Maclin's ongoing contract negotiations - and outside linebacker - dependent on Trent Cole's willingness to restructure his contract and Marcus Smith II's development - a move up in the draft for Mariota would remove much of the draft ammo the Eagles could use to plug in new young talent across the team.
Perhaps a major foray into free agency is the answer, perhaps not, but if Kelly feels like he needs Mariota in order to find NFL success, that draft day trade must become the priority, draft picks be damned.
