Philadelphia Eagles Must Draft a Mobile Quarterback

By Nick DeCesare | Dec 20, 2014

Aug 15, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9), quarterback Mark Sanchez (3), quarterback Matt Barkley (2) and quarterback G.J. Kinne (4) warm up before the preseason game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles have an issue at the quarterback position, and not the good kind. They have a whole slew of questions that will need answering this offseason. Head coach Chip Kelly’s offense is extraordinarily quarterback-friendly, but the Philadelphia Eagles must draft a mobile quarterback this offseason to take the offense to new heights.

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Kelly’s offense at Oregon was always predicated on utilizing mobile quarterbacks. A mobile quarterback creates more holes in a defense, since they are forced to account for that player’s running ability. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who Kelly recruited and groomed at Oregon, is the “prototypical Kelly quarterback;” a quarterback who can make accurate throws, has a fairly strong arm, and can outrun almost anyone on the defense is what Kelly likes.

So far in his NFL career, Kelly has not done what was expected of him. Kelly broke the stereotype that his offense needs a mobile quarterback by drafting USC quarterback Matt Barkley and having a lot of success with not-very-mobile-quarterback Nick Foles running the show.

This offseason, that could change. Kelly treats football like a numbers game; his offense is predicated on stretching the field so that a defense can simply not account for all of his weapons. A year after seeing man-coverage 60% of the time, defenses have changed tactics and defended the Eagles offense with zone coverage the majority of the time.

A mobile quarterback would make it even more difficult for defenses to use zone coverage against the Eagles. It would likely force the defenses to use a man to spy the quarterback, taking one extra man out of coverage and giving the other Eagles weapons even more room to work and get open.

For that reason, Kelly has to draft a mobile quarterback this year. There are three very good prospects in the draft this year, all of which could effectively run the offense: Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, UCLA’s Brett Hundley, and Baylor’s Bryce Petty.

Mariota seems out of reach as he is considered the top quarterback in the draft and will likely go in the top five picks. To move up that far, the Eagles would probably have to give up more than they are willing to. Despite two seasons of being above .500, the Eagles are still rebuilding the franchise.

The other two good prospects, Hundley and Petty, will be available when the Eagles pick later in the first round and could end up slipping into the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Hundley has better tools and will likely be the top “project quarterback” taken. If he is around when the Eagles pick in the first, or even if the Eagles have to trade up to get him early in the second, the Eagles should make the move. If any coach can make Hundley a franchise quarterback, I believe Kelly can do it.

A mobile quarterback would make this Eagles offense soar. While Kelly’s offense has been very good in its first two years, it can be even better if a quarterback who is also a running threat is under center. After all, if a defense is spying the quarterback, it would take a defender out of the picture, leaving the other offensive players with 10 guys to account for rather than 13.

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