The Philadelphia Eagles shook up an otherwise quiet Wednesday, as they made a deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. They gave up a lot, but they are now guaranteed a shot at one of the top two quarterbacks. They either grade out both Carson Wentz and Jared Goff equally, or they know specifically who the Rams are planning on drafting at No. 1. Whatever the case, all indications are that the quarterbacks are going No. 1 and No. 2.
This has plenty of repercussions up and down the draft board. I thought we'd take a preliminary look at the impact. Of course, given how much trading is going on, even these thoughts will be outdated sooner rather than later.
No, this does not impact 49ers, Colin Kaepernick
People have asked if this means the 49ers definitely will not trade Colin Kaepernick. I don't think this deal has any real bearing on a potential Kap trade. I've said for a while that I don't think the 49ers go quarterback in the first round. My one exception on that would be if the team potentially moved into the back end of the first round. But for now, I still think the 49ers deal Kap to the Broncos. I'll stick with my prediction of it happening Friday of the draft.
Chargers likely shopping No. 3
The top two quarterbacks are expected to be off the board, which leaves the four notable defensive players and Laremy Tunsil available. I would not expect the Chargers to get nearly the haul of the Titans or Browns, but they could still make something happen if someone is eyeing a particular talent. And while it is a small sample size, Gil Brandt had an interesting fact following the Eagles-Browns trade:
If Browns bail out of 2 it will mark only 4th time top 2 picks traded in same year. In all instances 3rd pick traded too
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) April 14, 2016
1967
1975
1997
How far will Laremy Tunsil fall?
We'll look into this in a bit more detail, but after months of being projected No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, how far could Tunsil fall now? I don't think he falls too far, but the Chargers might view him as a bit more of a luxury and want to go defense. If Tunsil does not go No. 3, do we see teams consider moving up to grab him? Or does he slip all the way to the 49ers?
How far will Paxton Lynch climb?
The all but certain notion that Wentz and Goff will go in the top two picks has people suggesting this means Paxton Lynch will have his value inflated. Teams are desperate to find a franchise quarterback, and sometimes do stupid things to roll the dice. If someone really wants Lynch, maybe Trent Baalke does a deal out of the No. 7 pick. I would be surprised if Lynch went that high, but this year is proving especially crazy.