What on earth is going on with Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota? Heading for the draft, many linked Mariota to his former head coach, Chip Kelly, and the Philadelphia Eagles. It appeared, at least for a day, that all the Mariota talk could be put to rest because the Eagles went in another direction. But then Mariota spoke.
Kelly seemed to end any Mariota talk in his press conference on Wednesday, as transcribed here on ESPN.com by Phil Sheridan:
"Let's dispel that right now," Kelly said. "I think that stuff's crazy. You guys have been going with that stuff all along. I think Marcus is the best quarterback in the draft. We will never mortgage our future to go all the way up to get somebody like that, because we have too many other holes we have to take care of.
"We're not mortgaging our future for any particular player. That's just not philosophically what we think is the right thing to do, that you're going to package 20 picks to move up from 20 (in the draft) to some other spot. We have not had any discussions (about such a trade)."
Further, the Eagles acquired Sam Bradford from the St. Louis Rams and held an introductory press conference, seemingly ending all the drama.
So on Pro Day Thursday, the Eagles would really have no need to talk to Mariota, right? Almost shockingly, Mariota revealed that he met with the Eagles:
"I sat down with the Buccaneers as well as the Eagles. Today I will be finishing up with the Titans." – Marcus Mariota
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 12, 2015
So what is this about?
Not everyone is totally high on Mariota. Mock drafts have had a number of teams picking Mariota or trading their picks to the Eagles. Some drafts have had Mariota falling as low as 18, while others saw the Eagles getting the number three overall pick and taking Mariota. Would the Eagles, after seemingly taking themselves out of the running and causing Mariota's value to drop, still take Mariota?
Curiously, Kelly said that he was offered a first round draft pick for Sam Bradford. Maybe the Eagles would still consider such a move if they find themselves in a position to draft Mariota. Kelly did call Mariota the "best quarterback in the draft". Would the Eagles not still be interested in Mariota if it did not mean mortgaging the team's future?
Again, that would mean that they used Sam Bradford. Or maybe they'll use Bradford as their quarterback, unless the right Mariota deal would come along. Until draft day, the speculation continues.
