Dave Spadaro Eagles Insider

By DAVE SPADARO

Eagles Insider

Would they? Could they? Just what did it mean that the Eagles had private workouts with two quarterbacks who are expected to be taken among the first 10 picks in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft? Didn’t the team sign Sam Bradford to a two-year contract just before free agency started and then add Chase Daniel on a three-year deal early in the free-agency period?

Another quarterback? In the first round?

Nothing is certain about the NFL draft except, of course, the uncertainty, and the Eagles had other workouts with other draft prospects beyond North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz and California quarterback Jared Goff and the truth is that nobody knows how the first handful of picks will come off the board.

The Eagles have done their homework and as they prepare for the draft and the nine picks they currently have, including No. 8 in the first round, and the suspense is bordering on overwhelming.

Where do the Eagles go at No. 8? Would they, could they, draft a quarterback there even after signing
Bradford and Daniel? “I don’t know about that,” Pederson said in March when asked if the Eagles would take a quarterback at No. 8. Nobody knows.

Pederson was part of the Eagles’ contingent that included executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo that had private workouts for many of the top-rated quarterbacks, not just Wentz and Goff.

The Eagles could take any one of a number of players at No. 8 in the first round, but no position on this football team has more intrigue than the quarterback position, one that hasn’t had a franchise-caliber player since the glory days of Donovan McNabb. Not surprisingly, McNabb is the most recent quarterback to win a playoff game for the Eagles, way back in 2008.

“It’s a position that we’ve got to get right,” Pederson said upon being hired as the head coach in January. “It’s the most important position on the team. It’s the face of your franchise. Quarterback is the key to the kingdom.”

What we know now is that Bradford is in line to start for the Eagles in September, with Daniel, a former Kansas City as his backup. Bradford’s performance in the second half of last season, after shaking off the rust from missing most of the previous two years with knee injuries, was encouraging to the Eagles, who think the best of Bradford is still to come.

“I truly believe that,” Pederson said. “He’s got time in this offseason to condition and get stronger
instead of rehabbing from injuries. I thought that once he got his legs under him last season, Sam really took off. He played good football down the stretch. He made all the throws. He got the ball down the field. I liked what I saw from him in the second half of the year. He’s got all the tools to have success in the offense we’re going to run.”

The addition of Daniel was no surprise. The former University of Missouri star played – albeit sparingly – for Pederson in the three years Pederson was Kansas City’s offensive coordinator and Daniel has a complete understanding of the “hybrid” West Coast offense the Eagles plan to use.

While it’s clear that Bradford is No. 1 and Daniel is No. 2, Pederson feels he can win games if Daniel is on the field. “The one thing that I see, and obviously what most people don’t see, the chance that I had to work with him for three years, I see the leadership ability that he has on and off the football field,” Pederson said. “I see how well he interacts with the football players. I see what he’s done, not only in practice, but in limited game situations. I know the last couple of years with us, he had a couple starts against San Diego and played extremely well. I think that he’s at a position in his career where given the opportunity and his work ethic, it puts him in a position to be a starter.”

The Eagles are obviously hoping for Bradford, a former first overall draft pick in 2010, to stay healthy and play great football and lead the Eagles into the postseason for the first time since 2013.

They think Daniel, here on a three-year deal, provides great security as a backup. But they clearly aren’t closing any doors about the draft and the possibility of adding another player to the position. Pederson has said he wants to add quarterbacks in the draft on a regular basis to keep the developmental program going and build depth.

How bold will the Eagles be in the first round on April 28? Was all of that pre-draft buzz around the top-rated quarterbacks just an example of the team performing due diligence and preparing for any
scenario, or were the Eagles targeting Wentz or Goff for the top of the draft?

The Eagles aren’t talking, of course. The draftniks and the fans are deep in speculation and conversation as the time ticks down to the magical moment when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell steps to the podium in Chicago on April 28 and says, “With the eighth pick in the 2016 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select …”

A defensive end? An offensive guard? A running back? Or … would they? Could they? A quarterback?

Stay tuned.