East Notes: Eagles, Mariota, Philbin, Cowboys

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the Eagles should take a shot at Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. There’s uncertainty at the position with Mark Sanchez hitting the open market and coach Chip Kelly obviously has an affinity for Oregon players. Even if Philadelphia takes a liking to Mariota, however, the asking price to move up in the draft could be high, ala the ill-fated Robert Griffin III trade. More from the East divisions..

  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) feels that Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is coaching for his job over the next few weeks. Philbin, he notes, is 10-11 in games decided by 6 points or less, so things could be very different for the Miami coach with a few breaks going his way.
  • It’s time for the Cowboys‘ major investment in the offensive line to pay off, writes Jarrett Bell of USA Today Sports. Dallas has invested three first-round picks within the last five years on this offensive line and for much of the season it has shown. Recently, though, they’ve hit some road blocks, and Bell says it’s time for them to turn it back on.
  • The Giants need help on the offensive line and finding that help in the draft could be tougher than most expect, writes Jordan Raanan of the Newark Star-Ledger. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is not high on this year’s crop and Raanan notes that of the nine lineman drafted in the top 11 of the past two drafts, only two (Lane Johnson of the Eagles and Taylor Lewan of the Titans) have positive Pro Football Focus grades this year. The good news, however, is that Big Blue will basically be adding veteran guard Geoff Schwartz again next year after he barely played in 2014.
  • Jets linebacker Calvin Pace doesn’t seem to think that Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, or anyone else at the top of the 2015 draft can be a savior for the team, writes Seth Walder of the Daily News. “One draft pick isn’t going to change things,” Pace said. “If you end up with a high draft pick, that guy still has to get seasoned and become a pro. Very few times you see guys come in and change a franchise with one guy.”
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