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NFL Rumors: Eagles could try to get to No. 1 spot for Marcus Mariota?

By CM Towle

Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the NFL Draft only a few hours away, could the Philadelphia Eagles be trying to get to the number one pick?

Just when you thought the lead-up to the Draft couldn’t be more anymore interesting, there’s now a rumor out there that the Eagles might be trying to get to the number one spot. That’s right, not just the number two spot that everyone’s assumed they’re going after, but all the way up to number one.

Most of the talk has had the Eagles talking to the Titans, trying to get number two, presumably to take quarterback Marcus Mariota number two overall. However, there’s also chatter that the Titans are driving a very hard bargain in giving up their number two pick, that much became clear when the Chargers said they were done talking to the Titans about Rivers.

So perhaps the Eagles are taking a different tack and trying to work something out with the Buccaneers, that’s what’s detailed on Pro Football Talk, only a few hours from Draft time. The question is what would the Bucs want to complete a deal like this? Further, what do the Eagles actually have to offer? Because obviously if the Bucs lose their number one pick, they won’t be getting Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.

On the other hand, despite some statements to the contrary, perhaps the Bucs really are having second thoughts about Winston and would be more enticed by a haul of players and picks that would allow new head coach Lovie Smith to start working on a more complete vision of a team overhaul. After all, a quarterback is just a start in the rebuilding process. Plenty of teams get top quarterbacks, but have nothing else to take them to that next level.

In supposing that Sam Bradford would be one of the pieces the Eagles would offer, the Bucs would be trading Winston’s off-field questions for Bradford’s twice-torn ACL questions.

The other possibility is that the Eagles are letting this rumor get out and are starting talks with the Bucs in order to get the Titans to back down in their hard-nosed stance. Either way, it’s adding a bit of intrigue into the longest-held draft assumption this year, which is that the Bucs will absolutely take Winston as number on overall.

Might we see the Eagles taking Mariota number one overall instead?

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