Eagles could trade back up in the first round if a top QB slides, per report

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trade down market may not be dead

https://theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/14920/NFL-insider-says-Patriots-are-a--top-candidate--to-move-up-and-draft-a-quarterback

It makes sense to me. My understanding of the unusual series of pre-draft trades was that the Dolphins and Eagles were talking about the Eagles moving up to 3 when the 49ers made the move. And while the Dolphins and Eagles were having active discussions already, they worked out a new deal for the Eagles to move back to the old 49ers spot.

The Eagles were a team actively looking to move up and grab a QB, so I would never count them out of making a move to go get one if the opportunity presents itself.

Here is the most of text from the article in case anyone doesn’t want to follow the link.
I have highlighted a few things that caught my eye.

Just when you think you get a read on the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback situation, another possibility arises. First, the team was expected to retain former MVP candidate Carson Wentz after hiring Frank Reich understudy Nick Sirianni. Then it appeared squarely in the mix for a top rookie QB after dealing Wentz to the Colts. Then it seemed to commit to Jalen Hurts for this season (and perhaps beyond) after trading back from No. 6 to No. 12 in the 2021 draft. With the first round drawing near, however, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Philadelphia just might move back up in the event a top QB prospect falls within reach.

As Bleacher Report’s Tim Daniels notes, Fowler appeared on “SportsCenter” Sunday and cited an anonymous NFL general manager in reporting that the Eagles are expected to at least field calls for a move up or down in the first round of the draft. That’s no surprise, considering Roseman’s penchant for deal-making, but then came links to the QBs: “If Trey Lance slides, if Justin Fields slides and the Eagles have a high grade on them, they could make that move,” Fowler said. "People I’ve talked to think the Eagles could go quarterback somewhere in this draft just to either get insurance for [Jalen Hurts](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/2240246/jalen-hurts) or competition for Jalen Hurts."

Fowler mentions Lance and Fields as his own thoughts.

I think he is missing the point… assuming the “anonymous GM” is real at all.
If the Eagles were interested in Lance or Fields… they would have stayed at #6 or been prepared to move up to #4 overall if they wanted either of them. They wouldn’t risk missing out on them by trading back from #6 when Carolina and Denver sit at #8 and #9. That makes zero sense to me.

On the other hand… by trading back from #6 and getting an additional 1st round pick in 2022… the Eagles seem to have set themselves up to select a CB or WR at #12 and get good value for the draft slot).

Therefore… if they are talking to teams about “trading up or down” for a QB… I think it means they may have a QB they are interested in taking at the end of round #1. They could either move down from #12… or move up from round 2 (pick 37).

Who would that target be in late round #1? Try a google search for a name with buzz.

image

He has only 11 starts in college… and 2 torn ACLs in his past.
But… he was the #1 ranked QB in the 2017 class by Rivals… ahead of Tua and Mac Jones.

Could also be a case of the new HC getting more time to evaluate Hurts and deciding this isn’t the guy I want to hitch the wagon of my first head coaching job to.

An example of a trade that works on the old chart:

Lions get Nos. 12, 70 & 84

Eagles get Nos. 7 & 101.

I’m not sure what the Eagles are doing to be honest. They canned Peterson because Wentz was pissed off, then traded Wentz anyway. Then they traded back without even seeing what would be on the board at #6 overall, and now are looking at trading back up? As someone who lives in the Northeast and hears about the Eagles all the time - they seem like a mess. Could be they know exactly what they’re doing, but it doesn’t have that feel to me personally.

With the draft a few weeks away… this could be exactly why this story is being “leaked” to the media.

They want 31 teams to feel the same as you.

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Regarding the draft, true. But it doesn’t explain their dysfunction this off-season. Schwartz basically retired to get out of there. Staley begged out. Prospective coaches turned down interviews. Lurie is a good owner, but he has too much faith in Roseman.

They hired some clown out of left field, but it was said it was because they couldn’t get Reich…so they took Reich light to come fix Wentz. But then they traded Wentz to Reich, so what in the heck was the point of hiring the knucklehead?

I followed the media rumblings out of Philly about who they had interviewed and who they wanted to interview for the HC job. It was an interesting list to say the least. I think reports that came out last month that Roseman wants to be the alpha and omega and was just looking for a yes man are probably true.

yeah… you and @Luke have good points on that one.
Hard to believe Pederson was fired so close to a Super Bowl win.

By hiring Sirianni as HC after he worked with Reich in Indy… kind of gives the impression that Roseman really wants to give more credit for the Super Bowl to Reich instead of Pederson. Maybe that is just a rash opinion from an outsider… but who knows?

I wanted to pull this one out separately. I think I read that Schwartz was hired on for a role with the Titans. Which again adds validity to the idea that Jimmy wasn’t as interested in stepping away from the game as he was stepping away from the Eagles.

Even more, sheesh:

I’ve told the story several times about how Ozzie Newsome spent alot of time with the Ravens owner giving him the proper information and making sure they were on the same page at all times. Just so he could avoid some last minute interference like they just described there. It was Phil Savage that told that story, after having worked for the Ravens. He said with a guy like Johnny Manziel…Ozzie would call a special meeting with the owner and give a detailed presentation on all of the flaws with the kid. He would have this special meeting if a kid was getting alot of hype and he wanted to get out in front of the owner falling in love with a kid and getting to a point of no return. So those type of situations Ozzie would address ASAP rather than the offseason process.

It’s a lot more than this story. It’s been some wild stuff for a bit now. That’s why I was ok with Doug Peterson being considered… not that I’m absolving him from that QB move, but the Eagles as a whole seem like mess on multiple fronts.

It’s a good idea. Hopefully Sheila’s the sort of owner we don’t need to worry about.

If they spend more to trade up to 7 then they got trading back to 6 I think I’ll laugh so hard that I’ll have my draft day cocktail coming out of my nose.

How do you go from supposedly one of the best run organizations in the league to one of the worst in such a short amount of time?

They received a top of the market package to move down. So the chances of having to spend more to get up to 7 is unlikely. But yes, that would be hilarious. And it would be even more funny if they traded up to 6 with the Dolphins and paid more than the Dolphins paid them.

I mentioned this in a post above… but the source doesn’t really indicate that they are trading up from #12.

It could be a reference to trading up from #37 into late 1st round to grab a QB.

The source also mentioned possibly trading down… which could be trading back from #12 and then grabbing a QB. Since WFT and Chicago are sitting at #19 & 20… maybe they could move back 4-5 spots and grab a QB at #16-18? This seems less likely than trading up from #37 to me.

Was thinking more about this possibility.

Eagles got a 1st in 2022 for the trade back to #12.
Eagles didn’t want to pay to move up from #6 according to reports… unless Wilson was in play.
However… trading #6 to Dolphins doesn’t take a QB off the board.

They could have possibly talked to Holmes and got parameters on what it would take to trade from #12 to #7.

Philly may have 3 picks in the 1st round in 2022 due to Wentz. Philly has the 2 picks in round 3 this year.

If Philly sent a 3rd rpunder in 2021 and their 2nd round pick in 2022 in exchange for #7 pick… that would still be less compensation than they got for moving back feom #6 to #12.

Seems like a crazy gamble to make if they really liked any of the QBs that might be available… but would be entertaining if that happened.