The Philadelphia Eagles have been a very active team this offseason and before trading for Darren Sproles, the team looked into the possibility of acquiring CJ Spiller from the Buffalo Bills and that is another way of showing what Chip Kelly was looking for on offense, as the team was also connected to deals involving LaMichael James, Terrelle Pryor and Dion Jordan and now they could look at someone like Brandin Cooks in the upcoming draft.
The Eagles made the playoffs last season on the strength of their offense and despite losing DeSean Jackson, Kelly thinks the team can make up for his production after acquiring Sproles. According to ESPN.com and Pro Football Talk, the Eagles looked into Spiller before trading with the Saints, as he is a younger back with the same skill set as Sproles and it meshes perfectly with what Kelly is trying to do on offense. Kelly had LeSean McCoy as the most used back in football last season and now he would like to take some of the workload off of him without losing any of the production and this is one way to do it.
Kelly took some flak in some circles for thinking he could replace a player like Jackson, but he is trying his best, as the Eagles have brought back Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin while also adding Sproles, who is the best pass catching running back in the league. Jackson had his best professional season last year and went for over 80 catches, 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns and now the Eagles will have to find a way to make up for that production and the draft should be one way to do it.
This year the class has a great group of wideouts and some names that could be in the mix for the team includes Kelvin Benjamin, Marqise Lee, Brandin Cooks and Allen Robinson. Cooks is a very interesting pick, as he previously played in the Pac-12 where Kelly is from and went to Oregon State, the rival to Oregon and he had an amazing season last year. Cooks had 128 catches and over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns and with his small size and blazing speed, he fits the mold of a Jackson type and could be the perfect replacement for him.
The Eagles were interested in Spiller from the Bills, as he has been one of the best double threat backs in football the past couple years. Last season he had 933 yards rushing and 185 yards receiving and the 26 year old has been very productive over the past few years, putting up 3,021 total yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Sproles gives the Eagles a player that can return kicks and he should be like a second wide receiver in the backfield with McCoy with the way those two catch passes.
While the Eagles never made an offer for Spiller, it shows how the team has been looking to improve this offseason. The team was also linked to James and Pryor as well as Dion Jordan, as Kelly has shown that he has no problems ditching players like Jackson for players he "likes" on his team. Kelly has power in Philly and he is really starting to show it.