The Philadelphia Eagles looked like Super Bowl contenders for most of the 2014 season, but three straight December losses dropped them from the top of the NFC East and out of the playoffs altogether. Inconsistent play at the quarterback position was one of the chief culprits for the team's late season swoon.

Marcus Mariota Declares for NFL Draft

The team does not seem to be particularly committed to Nick Foles in 2015, and backup Mark Sanchez becomes a free agent in March.

Now reports from NJ.com indicate that Philly is exploring the possibility of trading up in this spring's NFL draft in order to get their hands on Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota. As you know Eagles head coach Chip Kelly coached Mariota at Oregon and runs an offensive scheme that seems tailor-made for the Heisman Trophy winner's talents.

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"From No. 20, it's certainly not going to be easy,'' said an anonymous source with knowledge of the Eagles' thought process. "It's probably going to take moving up twice to do it. There's going to be some wheeling and dealing involved.

"Can it happen? I don't know. But they're going to try.''

Kelly recently won control of personnel decisions within the Eagles organization, so if he really wants to make an all-out blitz to land Mariota, ostensibly there's no one stopping him. It would probably take as many as three first round picks to move into the top five from the Eagles' current spot of no. 20.