The Philadelphia Eagles made some wise drat picks over the weekend and the team also made a trade with the Buffalo Bills involving running back Bryce Brown and while that move was made to clear out some depth at the position, there is a chance that head coach Chip Kelly still wants to make a deal with the 49ers for a trade with LaMichael James, as he played for him at Oregon and the team needs a solid backup with Darren Sproles after Chris Polk had shoulder surgery.
The Eagles looked like a great destination for James before the team traded for Darren Sproles and that came after the 49ers put him on the trading block after two seasons with the team. Chip Kelly was James' head coach in Oregon and when he played there he was wildly productive and even with the depth at running back, Kelly could still find a way to use James as a weapon. The deal now probably would be a waste since the team has LeSean McCoy and Sproles, but Sproles is not a youngster anymore and he has had injury problems in the past, meaning Kelly could overlook those things if he wants to make a deal.
On top of that, Kelly has shown in his very short stint as the head coach of the Eagles that he is not worried about what anyone thinks and that he consistently looks outside the box for solutions. Kelly and his offense last season showed that it could translate to the NFL despite many having questions about it and one reason was due to speed. The offense ran plays faster than anyone in the league by a long shot and with James coming from Oregon where Kelly did the same thing, he could integrate into the offense easily.
The 49ers love to stock up on draft picks and they could take a mid to late round pick in next year's draft for James if the Eagles want to pull off a deal. While trading Brown makes it seem that the Eagles will not be looking to add another running back, James and Brown are very different players and Kelly may not see Brown as a player that fits his offense, much like DeSean Jackson and the way he played last season proves that. Brown had just 878 yards and six touchdowns over two seasons with the team and while James has put up far less than that, he is more explosive, a better pass catcher and he also can return kicks and punts and that could be where he shows his value.
The Eagles are spoiled on offense and they showed that with the picks of Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff in the draft. The team lost Jackson and brought back Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin and now they add even more weapons, as Matthews was one of the most productive receivers in the SEC last season. Matthews had over 110 catches and 1,477 yards with seven touchdowns and this came as defenses knew that Vanderbilt was throwing his way since he was their best player. Huff played for Kelly art Oregon and that is a scary thought and he comes out after making 62 catches last season for 1140 yards and 12 touchdowns.
