There's a reason so many pre-2015 NFL Draft scenarios had the Philadelphia Eagles and head coach Chip Kelly doing everything in their combined power to trade up into the top few selections in the first-round in order to draft Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, and it goes beyond the obvious Oregon connection between the two men.
As has been proven time and again in the NFL, if you don't have a franchise quarterback, your chances of creating a consistently winning team capable of finding it's way through the NFL postseason minefield are extremely low.
To that end, Kelly has already added Sam Bradford via trade, kept around former first-round pick Mark Sanchez, signed a guy who hasn't donned an NFL uniform in a regular season game since 2012 in Tim Tebow and, if the myriad of reports are to be believed, did everything but throw the Novacare Complex kitchen sink into potential trade offers to the Tennessee Titans for Mariota.
While the Eagles quarterback depth chart looks pretty full at the moment, is there room for one more potential reclamation project, perhaps in the shape of embattled Buffalo Bills signal-caller EJ Manuel?
"If the Bills end up dangling Manuel for a late-round pick in August, keep an eye on the Eagles as a potential trade partner," writes Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
"After recruiting Manuel at Oregon, Chip Kelly told NFL Network in the lead-up to the 2013 NFL Draft that the former Florida State star was a player he 'didn't get a chance to coach but would like a chance to coach.'"
Manuel suggested prior to the 2013 draft that Kelly and the Eagles "want me pretty bad," though of course the truth of that statement will never be known after the old Bills brass made the surprising decision to nab Manuel with a mid-first-round pick.
Manuel, in two NFL seasons, has amassed 2,810 yards and 16 touchdowns passing. He's also fumbled four times and thrown 12 interceptions.
His passer rating in 15 career games is 78.5.
While Manuel does possess significant physical attributes, it's his limited understanding of NFL passing concepts and propensity for turnovers that led the Bills to roll with journeyman Kyle Orton last season.
With Orton gone, the now Rex Ryan-led Bills have traded for veteran Matt Cassel, suggesting that they're either not sold on Manuel based on the limited exposure they've already had to him or they're simply hedging their bets that they may not be able to coax a franchise signal-caller out of the prodigious talent Manuel brings to the table.
If it doesn't cost Kelly much - perhaps a fifth or sixth-round pick - it would be hard to fault him for bringing in a player who was a first-round pick and still carries significant potential - even though he probably shouldn't have been a first-round pick - and slot him in behind Bradford, Sanchez and Tebow on the Philly quarterbacking depth chart.
