Another day, another draft rumor. This time it's Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net reporting that the Philadelphia Eagles are one of four teams to have inquired about moving up to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys are one of four teams that have inquired on moving up to the top spot of the draft. The other three teams are the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets, who are the dark horse.
Although this is a new report, it's not totally unfamiliar to the rumors we've heard so far. To recap:
March 23 - An NFC executive thinks the Eagles will trade up to draft Carson Wentz.
March 24 - The Eagles are rumored to be one of four teams in play to trade up to the No. 1 overall pick.
April 4 - There's a 50% chance the Titans trade the No. 1 pick and Eagles could be in play.
April 5 - Doug Pederson reportedly loves Carson Wentz and the Eagles are trying to get him.
It's always important to consider the motives behind these reports. Are the Titans trying to create the impression there's a market for the top pick in order to drive up the price? Easily possible. Are the Eagles trying to disguise their true intentions, which might not involve trading up? Also possible.
With that said, it's hard to imagine the Eagles aren't truly interested in these top quarterbacks. They've done a ton of homework on them this offseason. They set up private workouts with Wentz, Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch, Christian Hackenberg, and Kevin Hogan. They've invited Wentz, Goff, Lynch, and Dak Prescott to Philadelphia for official pre-draft visits. That's a lot of time and resources spent on quarterback prospects.
Let's assume the Eagles are interested in trading up from No. 8 to No. 1. What could it cost? ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic this week and threw out his idea of the price.
"I think you’re looking at a 1 this year, [a] 1 next year, and another pick, like a 3 or a 4," said Schefter via PhillyVoice.
Not having a first round pick next year obviously isn't ideal, but getting a franchise quarterback might be worth the risk. If Pederson truly loves one of the quarterbacks from this class, it's up to the Eagles to do their best to get him. The Eagles may have Sam Bradford as a short-term answer but neither he nor Chase Daniel are necessarily long-term solutions.
Just because the Eagles are reportedly gauging the cost of trading up doesn't guarantee they'll pull the trigger on a deal. The team could easily stay at No. 8 and take one of the 10 players that Howie Roseman identified as "Pro Bowl caliber talents." Maybe a quarterback will even fall to them without them having to trade up. For all the (deserved) criticism Roseman gets, he typically has a good handle on "value." He'll probably have a good idea if the Eagles need to trade up or not to get their quarterback, assuming that's the direction they want to go in the first round.
Only a few more weeks before we find out if the Eagles make a big move or not.