Eagles vs. Seahawks: The Seattle player that Philadelphia was wrong to pass over

A theme post the SB Nation NFL sites have been done in the past and will continue to do throughout this season is "Which [opposing team's] player would [your favorite team's] fans take?" With the Philadelphia Eagles set to take on the Seattle Seahawks this week, it's time to familiarize yourself with the opponent's roster.

The one that got away

There's a certain Seahawks player that Eagles had the opportunity to draft, but opted to take another player instead.

No, it's not All-Pro safety Earl Thomas. Crazy, right? For all the talk about how the Eagles need a safety, which isn't untrue, it's hardly the biggest need on their roster. Don't get me wrong, having Thomas would be great for Philadelphia. Thomas is an easy upgrade over Nate Allen.

But the biggest missed opportunity for the Eagles came at the premium position in the NFL: quarterback. The Eagles should have drafted Russell Wilson.

The interest was there. Countless reports of the Eagles' desire to draft Wilson have surfaced (thanks to Joe Banner, I imagine) since Wilson has tasted success in Seattle. Heck, Wilson even promised Philadelphia a Super Bowl win if they drafted him. But the Eagles missed out. The Seahawks selected Wilson at No. 75, which is 13 spots of where the Eagles settled for Nick Foles.

Ever since, Wilson has gone on to starts 44 regular season games for Seattle. He's 32-12 in those games with a 63.7% completion rate, 8,941 passing yards, 67 touchdowns, 24 interceptions, and a 98.9 rating. He's also rushed for 1,707 yards and nine touchdowns on 281 attempts.

Adding Wilson to the Eagles now would instantly solve their quarterback issue. Chip Kelly would maximize Wilson's value in an offense built to his strengths. As it's been said before, it's not that Kelly needs a dual-threat such as Wilson. But you would be incredibly foolish to suggest that Wilson's value as a runner doesn't add significant value to a team's offense.

If you're looking for some tangible evidence (as opposed to idealized hypothetical) of how dynamic Kelly's offense could be with Wilson, check out this post from ChipWagon. Look at how the threat of Wilson as a runner opens things for Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch.

While Wilson is the easy pick here, it's worth noting the defending Super Bowl 48 champions have a number of desirable players. Earl Thomas was already discussed. Adding cornerback Richard Sherman to replace Bradley Fletcher would easily replace Bradley Fletcher. Watching a bruiser like Lynch pound through a gassed defense would be quite the sight. Bobby Wagner would be an upgrade on Casey Matthews. Billy Davis could make use of Seattle pass rushers such as Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. It's hard to go wrong with almost any starters on Seattle's defense.

But for me, it all comes back to Wilson. The future of the Eagles quarterback position is clear and he would been the ideal answer.

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Who would you take for Philadelphia?