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2015 NFL Draft: Chip Kelly’s chance to prove his personnel acumen

By Nate Williams

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When the 2015 NFL Draft rolls around next spring, much attention will be on the Philadelphia Eagles and head coach, Chip Kelly.

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The reason being is because Kelly was recently given total control of the Eagles roster and their player personnel — that includes the upcoming 2015 NFL Draft.

The Eagles took a good amount of scrutiny following last years draft, mostly due to their pick in the first-round, Louisville linebacker, Marcus Smith II.

Smith had an all but wasted rookie season in 2014, and the reason that was given was because he was behind great talent on the Eagles roster, with players like Conner Barwin and Trent Cole ahead of him at outside linebacker.

If that was the case though, why draft from that position at all?

It has been difficult to determine why the Eagles have drafted the players that they have in the past, but it’s likely due to owner Jeff Lurie’s consensus-based approach with no clear decision maker at the helm.

That’s no longer the case though, and it’s very likely that Kelly may have a less than conventional strategy when the draft finally arrives.

Kelly did a lengthy interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King last summer, and had this to say about the draft process:

"“The hype that goes into the draft is insane – totally insane,” Kelly told King. “The biggest thing for me is that everybody thinks whoever you drafted or whoever you signed is now going to be a savior. They come in . . . as freshmen in high school or freshmen in college, or your first year on the job at Sports Illustrated – you’re not telling people what to do. You’re just trying to figure out what room to go to. . . .“There’s a learning curve when you go from any job out of college into a company. If you take a job at Wells Fargo when you get out of college, your first day of the job they don’t say, ‘He’s our first-round draft pick. He’s the savior to the company.’ . . ."

There is certainly a lot that can be taken from that 302-word transcript, most importantly may be the fact that Kelly has put more emphasis on the importance of a players first-year learning curve.

The truth is however, that last year doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter what thought process went into the Eagles decision to draft Smith in the first-round or wide receiver Jordan Matthews in the second-round. What matters is that the people involved in that decision-making process are no longer on the scene.

Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Chip has always done an excellent job of getting the most out of the players on his roster, dating back to his well documented days at the University of Oregon. That is a great skill for any coach to possess. The question now becomes however, can Kelly make the right moves while essentially acting as the teams general manager come the draft?

Kelly wasn’t shy to omit the fact that he was adamant about drafting former Oregon player Taylor Hart in the third-round last year, despite former Eagles GM Howie Roseman insisting that they wait until the fifth-round, which is where they would eventually draft him.

Hart has now shown that he may have actually been a poor decision, even in the fifth-round, but the important thing to take away from this experience is the fact that Kelly isn’t ashamed or embarrassed by the pick.

By him being open about the situation it becomes a clear indicator that Kelly learned from the situation and likely will not make an Oregon-bias pick again.

That in its self is a good sign for the city of brotherly love, but to see the full outcome, we’ll just have to wait and see how the draft unfolds.

Then again, come to think of it, isn’t that Marcus Mariota guy entering this years draft?

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