NFL Draft 2016: Paxton Lynch works out for Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia continues to look closely at the top quarterbacks available in this year’s NFL draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles may have re-signed incumbent starter Sam Bradford and brought in veteran Chase Daniel via free agency, but that hasn’t stopped them from taking a hard look at the top signal callers up for grabs in April’s NFL draft.

The Eagles worked out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch on Thursday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Lynch, a 6-foot-7 junior, is considered one of the draft’s premier quarterbacks, along with California junior Jared Goff and North Dakota State senior Carson Wentz. Philadelphia previously met with Goff on Monday and Wentz on Wednesday, as well as Stanford senior Kevin Hogan on Tuesday, according to a Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia report.

The Eagles hold the No. 8 overall pick this year after swapping first-round picks in a trade with the Miami Dolphins that also involved failed 2015 offseason acquisitions cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso.

Wentz and Goff are widely considered the top two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Both could be gone by the No. 8 selection with QB-needy teams like Cleveland (No. 2) and San Francisco (No. 7) slated to select ahead of Philadelphia.

The Eagles re-signed Bradford to a two-year, $36 million deal (with $26 million guaranteed) on March 1, and then added longtime backup Daniel on a three-year, $21 million deal on March 9 for new head coach Doug Pederson.

Investing in another quarterback, particularly in the top 10 of the draft when the team still has holes on defense, might seem curious, but the Eagles’ quarterbacks struggled under former head coach Chip Kelly. Philadelphia’s quarterbacks combined for 23 touchdown passes (tied for 20th in the league), 18 interceptions (tied for sixth most) and had a cumulative 85.6 quarterback rating (22nd) last season.

For more NFL Draft news, be sure to visit our hub page.