Russell Wilson Promised Eagles Championships Before Draft
September 4, 2014 5:13 PM
SEATTLE, WA – FEBRUARY 05: Quarterback Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks holds the Lombardi Trophy as running back Marshawn Lynch looks on during ceremonies following the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII Victory Parade at CenturyLink Field on February 5, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
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Chip Kelly, Eagles, Nick Foles, Ray Boyd, Russell Wilson, Super Bowls
By Ray Boyd
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Last season Russell Wilson reached the ultimate peak for any NFL quarterback. He led his Seahawks team to a Super Bowl victory in just his second season at the helm.
Wilson delivered on his pre-draft promise to win Super Bowls, but it appears he did not deliver for the team he intended to. According to NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah, host of the ‘Move The Sticks Podcast’ and a former Eagles scout, the Eagles were very close to nabbing Wilson in the 2012 draft and he promised he would lead the team to glory.
Jeremiah recalled interviewing Wilson at the Senior Bowl in 2012. “At the end of the interview, you always ask for players’ numbers so you can get in touch with them,” Jeremiah said. “He asked for my number.”
Wilson took the opportunity to reach out to Jeremiah plenty before the 2012 draft. Jeremiah said that he would get texts from Wilson reading “If the Eagles draft me, I will lead the Eagles to championships.”
Jeremiah said that he received texts like this all the way up to the first day of the draft that year. He expressed the understanding that the organization really liked Wilson.
The story did not end with Wilson winding up in Philadelphia and proving himself to be right. Instead Wilson was taken 75th overall and delivered that promise to the Seahawks instead.
The Eagles current signal caller, Nick Foles, was taken 88th overall, the next time the Eagles were on the clock. No quarterbacks were taken in between Foles and Wilson. Would the Eagles have gone with Wilson if he and Foles were both on the board?
Just to give a full perspective of the night, the Eagles used their first round selection (12th overall) on Fletcher Cox who now plays a key role on the defensive line. The team also nabbed another starter in the second round when they selected Mychal Kendricks (46th overall).
The Eagles had another 2nd round pick that season at 59th overall which turned into Vinny Curry who has become somewhat miscast in the current 3-4 defensive scheme.
It is easy to say hindsight is 20-20. We can only imagine what the combination of Chip Kelly and Russell Wilson would have been like in Philadelphia.
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