April 30, 2015
As someone who isn't hesitant to use hyperbole, I can safely say that I've never seen anything like this before. Marcus Mariota had the keys to the city of Philadelphia, and we had no idea if he would actually be an Eagle or not. Here's a review of the crazy final buildup to the 2015 NFL Draft, aka "Mission Marcus."
Let's start with Sal Pal. He's a Philly guy, right?
Sal Pal is reporting that Bucs aren't giving up the number 1 pick and it's between Eagles and Bears (!) for the number 2 pick.
— Bryn Swartz (@eaglescentral) April 30, 2015
OK, sure, but what do Eagles fans think? I imagine some of them want to upgrade the secondary or add some depth on the offensive line, right?
Fans changing "Do the deal" at Chip #Eagles https://t.co/y7NZRHDaDD
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 30, 2015
I decided to make an observation, one that I stand by. I guess some poor bloke from Tennessee searched "Titans" on Twitter and disagreed pretty vehemently with me. Oh well, at least his team got a shoutout in "Cast Away."
Considering they're in most popular league by a mile, Titans def have to be the least interesting team in sports. This is their 15 minutes.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) April 30, 2015
How much will Marcus Mariota be making early on his career? I'll confess to not knowing at all before reading this.
With front-loaded rookie deals, Winston and Mariota to make approx. $14M in bonus this year, more than Sam Bradford's $13M salary.
— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) April 30, 2015
It really seems like it's down to the Eagles and the Bears, that is if the Titans trade the pick at all. After doing some quick math, Albert Breer's Tweet doesn't make landing Marcus look very possible for the Chippah.
ESPN's Bob Holtzman reported #Eagles & #Bears are making "a late push" to acquire No. 2 pick from #Titans. CHI wants to send Cutler to TEN.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) April 30, 2015
2) Titans fielded offers, but nothing worth for moving yet. They’re ready to draft Mariota at 2. And not real interested in a pick after 15.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 30, 2015
Not sure who's more appealing: Sam Bradford or Jay Cutler. No knees vs no brain.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) April 30, 2015
Let's take look at our conquering hero. There he is! There he is! Cue the Hawaii Five-0 theme (which, by the way, is an absolute jam)!
#MarcusMariota arrives at #NFLDraft party in Honolulu. (PC: AP/Eugene Tanner) @HawaiiNewsNow will air live. #HISports pic.twitter.com/GNLmpWAnho
— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) April 30, 2015
Nice Humblebrag, Schefter. "Oooh, Mike Trout DM's me!" Now that I think about it, that's not even a Humblebrag. It's just a straight-up brag.
Eagles' fans of all kinds want answers to the same question: pic.twitter.com/qLIRsrPn9n
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2015
Let's check in with Mike Florio, because that seems like something to do.
Per source, Eagles did indeed try to move up to No. 1.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 30, 2015
And finally, what thi-- OH MY GOD, CHIP WANTS TO TRADE THE ENTIRE TEAM? THIS IS COMPLETE MADNESS!
What package are #Eagles talking about to go to No. 1 or No. 2? Two 1st rounders, a 3rd rounder, Fletcher Cox, Boykin, Kendricks, more. Wow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2015
The #Eagles have offered Sam Bradford as part of their trade package, I’m told. It has not been enough.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 1, 2015
And finally, this is how a lot of Philadelphia feels, with one definite exception.
•_•) <) )╯DO / \ \(•_•) ( (> THE / \ (•_•) <) )> DEAL / \
— Wesley Share (@wshareNBA) April 30, 2015
I'd love to know what Bill Davis thinks about Chip's attempts to gut his friggin' defense.
— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) May 1, 2015
Chris Berman with a sweet JFK assassination reference in the NFL Draft opening. LET'S GET PUMPED!
— SportsPickle (@sportspickle) May 1, 2015
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 1, 2015
"DO THE DEAL"!!!
— Brian Westbrook (@36westbrook) May 1, 2015
Why do the Bucs get ten minutes to make their pick? Haven't they been on the clock since the final day of the season?
Titans are on the clock. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) May 1, 2015
Jeff Darlington says that the Titans are keeping the pick, and it's not looking great.
Titans source indicates Tennessee will NOT be trading its second-overall pick: "Feeling solid." Tick, tock.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 1, 2015
I can't even imagine what RickyMania would've been like online.
Just occurred to me: Imagine if Twitter existed when the Eagles drafted McNabb.
— Matt Mullin (@matt_mullin) May 1, 2015
I want to die.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 2, 2012
That Piers Morgan retweet gets me every time. Rest assured, it was an Eagles fan who brought it back into my life. And oh wait, what is this?
#Titans taking Marcus Mariota
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) May 1, 2015
There it is ... https://t.co/S8L8pvy3Mf
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) May 1, 2015
That's the tricky thing about the draft in the social media era. If you're addicted to Twitter like I am, you know the picks five minutes before it happens, which takes away a lot of the drama. And boom goes the dynamite:
— Dan McQuade (@dhm) May 1, 2015
Reminder. https://t.co/W7GqKLEzyL It's too hard to execute a post-pick trade under this CBA.
— Sam Lynch (@shlynch) May 1, 2015
— Zoo With Roy (@zoowithroy) May 1, 2015
Well it was fun while it lasted.
— Spike Eskin (@SpikeEskin) May 1, 2015
Don't worry guys, I'm sure Sam Bradford will be fine with the fact that we just spent three months trying to trade him.
— Matt Carey (@RealMattCarey) May 1, 2015
Goodell completely butchers Mariota's name in one of the biggest moments of his life. Well done.
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) May 1, 2015
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— FakeWIPCaller (@FakeWIPCaller) May 1, 2015
I think Marcus Marriotto is gonna be really good.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 1, 2015
Domo arrigatto Marcus Marriotto ... #Commish
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherCSN) May 1, 2015
And with the second pick the Titians select Adele Dazeem
— Brendan James (@LoonSquad_) May 1, 2015
I'm already preemptively booing Sam Bradford.
— WIBR (@wheresbenrivera) May 1, 2015
Ultimately, Eagles couldn't do enough.. Eagles don't play Mariota and the Titans until 2018. Eagles have 8 picks, Bradford/Sanchez at QB.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) May 1, 2015
That reported offer was far more than I would have expected the Eagles to make. Absurd that the Titans didn't accept it, if accurate.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) May 1, 2015
#PickHadMeLike pic.twitter.com/3YHSiztfXZ
— Shamus (@shamus_clancy) May 1, 2015
How I imagine every @Eagles fan looking after that pick pic.twitter.com/JTdH0Iv0qI
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) May 1, 2015
I bet Mariota is excited about throwing to Hakeem Nicks and handing the ball off to Bishop Sankey. Under center.
— the guy (@theguyotc) May 1, 2015
Good luck, Sam Bradford.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) May 1, 2015
In the end, it was a bit of a subdued reaction from Eagles fans. Sure, they were disappointed, but I think deep down they knew that the odds of moving up 18 spots to the second pick were low. There's a reason that it never happened before. Now Chip Kelly can say he didn't want to "mortgage the future," but if those legitimately respected reporters from the NFL Network are to be believed, we know that he was willing to give up quite a bit.
