On one hand, trading up from No. 20 to land Marcus Mariota would be a crazy idea for the Eagles given their holes. On the other hand, doing whatever it takes to get the Oregon star makes perfect sense for head coach Chip Kelly and the Eagles, writes Mike Slelski of The Inquirer. If Kelly considers the draft a complete crapshoot, as he has suggested before, then making Mariota his top priority would make all the sense in the world. While you ponder what figures to be the biggest sports story in Philadelphia this spring, here’s more out of the NFC East..
- Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News looked at the Giants‘ cap situation and their biggest needs to address. Recently, Pro Football Rumors detailed the Giants as a part of our Offseason Outlook series.
- In today’s chat, a reader asked Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News if Brian Orakpo could be a fit for the Cowboys if he becomes a free agent. Orakpo could potentially be had on a one-year deal, but as a 3-4 outside linebacker, he probably couldn’t be a great fit for Dallas’ scheme. He could be a Sam linebacker, possibly, but he probably wouldn’t be worthwhile unless he was unsigned after the draft and the Cowboys had some cash laying around.
- More from Sturm, who writes that he would be fine with paying Dez Bryant $70MM over five years or maybe even $84MM over six years, giving him an average annual value of $14MM. That yearly figure would put Bryant just below the likes of Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, but above the other wide receivers. Still, Sturm isn’t sure that the Cowboys are willing to go that far right now.