On the surface, the Eagles trading several picks to move up six spots sounds asinine. After all, it’s football. Eleven players play on offense, eleven on defense and the rest of the roster consists of 31 players. The Eagles gave up five picks for two. One of those two picks, however, will be used to draft the most important position.
I thought Sam Bradford could be QB 1 for the Philadelphia Eagles. Bradford had a nice connection with Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews towards the end of the last season. With a new offense, Bradford would at least have trust in his receivers to make plays if complications occurred. Bradford’s quarterbacking the 2016 Eagles, but Bradford isn’t Philadelphia’s future. It’ll be awkward, I’m sure, for Bradford. Obviously the Eagles never fully believed in Bradford when they signed him to a two-year deal last month. The contract was team-friendly, allowing the Eagles to basically move away from Bradford after one season with not as much dead cap space as a result. At age 28, Bradford’s in an awkward spot. This isn’t Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers. This is something much different. Bradford’s played 14 games for Philadelphia. The Eagles won seven of those 14 games. The Eagles don’t want to be bad next year; they can’t afford to be bad. Cleveland has Philadelphia’s first round pick next year. This isn’t a rebuilding project. The Eagles believe Bradford, at this present moment, gives them the best chance to win games this season. Wentz won’t even dress on same game days, I’d imagine, with Chase Daniel serving as Bradford’s backup.
Three quarterback gurus, Doug Pederson, Frank Reich and John DeFilippo, will help groom Wentz. Wentz will have all the time to develop because if he’s not ready in 2017, the Eagles won’t be afraid to have Daniel quarterback. Wentz will play when he’s ready, or when the Eagles no longer have a choice.
It makes sense why Pederson and Howie Roseman wanted the second overall pick. It’s not every season you have a top pick to draft a quarterback. The Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb in 1999. He quickly became a franchise quarterback. McNabb and Andy Reid won lots of games together. Roseman wants McNabb/Reid to be Wentz/Pederson. In Pederson’s eyes, the idea of drafting a quarterback to develop is much more intriguing than hoping a 28-year-old quarterback can manage the game well enough.
The Eagles should have a very good defense next year. In a division that hardly ever produces back-to-back winners, the Eagles have a chance in 2016. Ideally the Eagles use the eighth overall pick to draft someone to play this season. The Eagles need pass rushers, running backs, offensive lineman and cornerbacks. They need a quarterback, too. Philly could’ve used their a third or fourth round pick on a guy to develop. After all, Wentz wasn’t supposed to be the second pick in the draft even two months ago. He’s thrown all of 600 college passes. Isn’t there someone else the Eagles would want in Day 2 or 3?
Coaches and general managers fall in love with players all the time. It’s hard for fans to see why that’s the case. I like the idea of building around a quarterback because it’s THE position in football, but I also hate the idea of trading several picks for an unknown. It’d be different if the Eagles used those five picks to trade for a player who has been in the NFL for a few seasons. But the draft is hit or miss.
Let’s hope Wentz has success. Since he won’t be thrown into a game right away, he really has a chance to be special. His flaws won’t be exposed immediately. He’ll build chemistry with Ertz and Matthews since both receivers should be in Philly for the long haul. It’s impossible to just sit back and hope the right player falls into your lap. Teams sometimes get lucky, but the Eagles see Wentz as the franchise-changing player, which is why Roseman and Pederson risked their Philadelphia careers because of it.
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