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2015 NFL Draft: Chip Kelly denies Eagles made strong effort to trade up for Marcus Mariota

Do you believe him?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Immediately prior to the start of the 2015 NFL Draft, NFL media's Ian Rapoport reported that the Eagles made a huge trade offer to the Tennessee Titans for the No. 2 overall pick.

The offer reportedly included several draft picks along with talented Eagles players such as Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, and Brandon Boykin.

Head coach Chip Kelly admitted that the Eagles did talk to the Titans and Buccaneers about moving up. But he denied that talks ever got serious.

"We had a conversation with both teams at the front, but it was way too steep to do anything," he said. "It didn't get very serious, to be honest with you."

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford was also rumored to be in the deal. But according to Kelly, that also isn't true.

"We didn't offer any players to anybody," Kelly claimed. "We didn't get into any discussions.  It was just a really steep price.  It was like driving into a nice neighborhood and looking at a house, and they tell you the price and you walk away.  We didn't walk in the front door and take a look around.  Part of our plan, as we've said all along is we're going to build this team.  We still think there is a lot of value in this draft and in future drafts.  So we want to try to hold on to our picks, if we can."

Back in March, shortly after the Eagles traded for Sam Bradford, Kelly claimed that he wouldn't mortgage the team's future to get his former quarterback. Whether he truly tried to trade up or not is unclear. If the offer was made, the Titans seem a little crazy for turning it down. In any case, what is clear is that Mariota isn't in Philadelphia and the team is moving forward with Bradford.

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