Marcus Mariota: Is He Really Worth All This?

Mar 22, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly in attendance during the NFL Veteran Combine at the Arizona Cardinals training facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly

Earlier this offseason, NFL.com reported an AFC scouting saying, “All these teams high in the draft are all going to see the same things on tape with Mariota, and I’ll bet he starts to fall on draft day. Once that happens, Chip [Kelly] will mortgage the future to go get him. If he misses on him, [Kelly] can just bolt back to college.”

Then when he traded running back LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonzo, whom he also coached at Oregon many were convinced many this would happen. The trade, cutting DeSean Jackson, and letting Jeremy Maclin walk in free agency were big hints that Kelly will take his system over stars on offense.

As for the trade up for Mariota, Kelly told ESPN, “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.”

Kelly then went on to sign running backs Demarco Murray and Ryan Mathews and quarterback Sam Bradford. And for his defense, he went out and got cornerbacks, Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell. The Eagles defense looks pretty good now, needing only a pass-rusher then Murray and Bradford have played in the spread offense in college.

But they brought in Mathews too so is Kelly collecting talent to avoid having to mortgage the future to move up?

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