Though this seems obvious now, the Philadelphia Eagles never traded up from the No. 13 pick to the No. 8 pick with their plan A being to select a running back, offensive lineman or defensive back. The Eagles staying at No. 8 was always possible, but the Eagles moved up to No. 8 in hopes that it would better position them to land what they hope will be their franchise quarterback.
While the Philadelphia Eagles were in the midst of agreeing to trade Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to the Miami Dolphins on March 7th — a trade that also allowed them to swap first-round picks with the Dolphins — a source close to the Eagles told Eagledelphia.com that the Eagles were moving up to the eighth pick in hopes of landing their franchise quarterback. The source noted at that time that the Eagles believed if they needed to move up further for a quarterback, which most figured they would, it was easier to move up from from pick No. 8 than pick No. 13.
The Eagles re-signed Sam Bradford on March 1st, and then agreed to a lucrative deal deal with former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel on March 9th. The source noted after the Daniel signing Mark Sanchez was likely to be traded, which he was two days later, but predicted at that time that the Eagles would have Bradford, Daniel and one of Carson Wentz or Jared Goff on the roster in 2016.
Throughout the last month, the source noted that the Eagles were comfortable with taking whichever quarterback that the Browns didn't with the No. 2 overall pick. We reported early last week that the consensus in the Eagles organization was that the Browns, despite signing Robert Griffin III, would take one of Wentz or Goff with the second pick.
That changed when the Los Angeles Rams acquired the No. 1 pick from the Tennessee Titans on April 9th. The Browns appear to have been locked in on taking one of the two quarterbacks on the board, and they appear to believe that the Rams were going to take that quarterback, which seemed to prompt them being more willing to move out from the No. 2 pick.
As we reported at that time, and other outlets have since confirmed, the Rams trading up also did change the Eagles' draft plans. The Eagles did attempt to trade up for the No. 1 pick, and do appear to have been the runner-up to the Rams, though runner-up is a loosely used term. They were runner-up in terms of who was the second most likely team to land the pick, but the same source noted at that time that the tipping point to the Rams landing the pick was that they had two second-round picks in 2016 to trade, while the Eagles had none. So the Eagles were the runner-up, but it probably wasn't as close as some have suggested once the Rams were willing to include the two second-round picks.
We also noted upon the completion of that trade that while the Eagles were outbid by the Rams, the Rams moving up altered another trade. We reported last Thursday, and Howard Eskin confirmed yesterday, that the Eagles believed they had the parameters of a draft night trade in place with the San Diego Chargers that would have allowed them to get to No. 3. That trade, prior to the Rams moving up, would have allowed them to take whichever quarterback that the Browns didn't take with the No. 2 overall pick, as the source had previously suggested.
Instead, the possibility now existed that the Browns would take whichever quarterback the Rams didn't take with the No. 1 pick, or another team would trade up to the Browns pick, blocking the Eagles from taking Wentz or Goff, regardless of where they picked.
So today, nearly a month and a half after the source initially suggested that the Eagles were moving from the No. 13 pick to the No. 8 pick in an attempt to gain leverage in potentially moving up again to draft one of the two quarterbacks at the top of the board, the Eagles agreed to what may go down as the biggest trade in franchise history to land the No. 2 overall pick, moving multiple first-round picks to land a pick that will either allow them to take Wentz or Goff.
It's been evident since early March that the Eagles want to give themselves as many opportunities as possible to land a franchise quarterback, and despite a few hiccups, Howie Roseman and the front-office did what they needed to do to land a pick that will allow them to draft one of 2016's top options.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is an Editorial Assistant for Eagledelphia.com.
