When all was said and done, the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft played out in a much more mundane manner than most had either hoped or expected.
The Chip Kelly-led Philadelphia Eagles specifically were expected to make some significant noise via a much-discussed potential trade up from No. 20 in the first-round to the second-overall selection in order to nab for Oregon signal-caller Marcus Mariota.
The Tennessee Titans wound up sitting tight and nabbing Mariota - and a few extra years of breathing room for coach Ken Whisenhunt and GM Ruston Webster in the process - for themselves and the Eagles and Kelly stayed put at 20 and took USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor.
While the first-round came down without many surprises and saw only a couple of draft-night trades, according to a report, it seems the Eagles and Kelly were approached by at least one team to trade out of the 20th spot and down into the latter portion of the draft's initial round.
"The Eagles wanted Agholor & turned down a chance to trade 1st round picks and add picks from Denver," Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweeted.
The Broncos, of course, wound up trading up to No. 23 in the first-round with the Detroit Lions in order to nab embattled pass-rusher Shane Ray, a player Denver GM John Elway was reportedly high on and the guy he'd likely taken at 20 if Kelly had traded back.
The Lions though, presumably made the deal with Denver in large part because the player they allegedly coveted, Agholor, was already gone.
"And, with Nelson Agholor gone, Detroit was able to trade down with Denver, get an immediate starter on the offensive line -- Manny Ramirez -- and then take another offensive lineman with its pick," Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote at the time.
The Lions landed a 2015 fifth-round pick, a 2016 fifth-round pick, offensive lineman Manny Ramirez and the 28th pick in the first-round, which they then used to select former Duke guard Laken Tomlinson, while the Broncos got their man Ray at No. 23.
While it would have been nice for Kelly and the Eagles to add the extra picks that would have come with making a deal with the Broncos, the possibility of losing Agholor to the Lions or any of the other intervening teams was likely too much to bear.
In the end, each team filled a need and while the Lions didn't land the player they were purportedly targeting, they were able to add extra draft ammo for the next couple of seasons.
