Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston to throw at 2015 NFL Combine

According to the combination of ESPN Insider Chris Mortensen and NFL media's Ian Rapoport, both Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston will participate in throwing sessions at the 2015 NFL Combine this weekend.

Yes, NFL coverage has evolved to the point where we're interested in seeing a player throw a football while wearing gym shorts. But on a more serious note, this announcement does come as a slight surprise due to trends in recent years with top quarterback prospects electing not to throw at the Combine. Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater opted against throwing in 2014. Both prospects fell in last year's NFL Draft, though that may have been more of a coincidence than a correlation.

Former Eagles scout Daniel Jeremiah notes that he can't think of a quarterback that hurt his draft stock by throwing poorly at Indianapolis. So in this respect, this could be a no-lose move for both Mariota and Winston, who are expected to be the top two quarterbacks drafted in this year's class.

The Eagles have obviously been connected to Mariota plenty times this offseason due to his time spent with Chip Kelly playing for the Oregon Ducks. Reports indicate that Philadelphia is "going to try" to trade up for him, even if that potentially involves "mortgaging the future." The fact that Mariota is throwing is also significant because he sprained his AC joint in the College Football Playoff National Championship game and that injury likely caused the redshirt junior to skip participating in the 2015 Senior Bowl. There was some speculation that Mariota might not throw at the Combine.

But whether you're for or against the Eagles trading up, at the least it'll be interesting to see (almost) all the quarterbacks on display at the Combine this weekend. Note that the quarterback drills will take place on Saturday, February 21. Bleeding Green Nation will have complete coverage of this year's Combine.