Eagles take unnecessary risk acquiring Green-Beckham
The Philadelphia Eagles have made a ton of roster moves this offseason to help cover up the stink Chip Kelly left all over this organization, but on Tuesday, they made one move too many.
In a trade with the Tennessee Titans, the Eagles swapped fifth-year offensive tackle Dennis Kelly for 2015 second-round receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, marking the team's fourth trade of the 2016 offseason.
Related: Eagles acquire Dorial Green-Beckham from Titans
While Green-Beckham has been a name in the football world since being proclaimed the top-ranked prospect coming out of high school, for the Eagles he's an unnecessary risk, especially considering what they gave up in order to acquire him.
With starting right tackle Lane Johnson reportedly facing a 10-game suspension, Kelly was slotted to be an Eagles starter for the majority of their 2016 season. By no means is Kelly an elite talent, but he provides the sort of competence that could have allowed the Eagles offense to function in Johnson's absence.
Now that Kelly is gone, the only linemen with any experience at tackle are Allen Barbre and Matt Tobin, both of whom are natural guards. If Johnson's suspension holds up, or veteran left tackle Jason Peters is lost to injury, the Eagles will have an obvious weakness at tackle - which is terrible news for Sam Bradford.
Another puzzling aspect of the Eagles' acquisition of Green-Beckham is that he doesn't fill a need. Even if the front office in Philly is losing sleep over their team's subpar receiving corps, DGB's 32-catch performance as a rookie likely won't be good enough to earn a starter's spot right out of the gate.
Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor will both be back in the starting lineup for Week 1. Josh Huff, who was listed as the team's third receiver last season, is also back and the team signed former New York Giants pass-catcher Rueben Randle in March.
Green-Beckham's 549 yards led all Titans wide receivers last season, but his history of inconsistency and off-field issues in college doesn't bode well for having success in Philadelphia. The Eagles have been far from a model of stability in recent years. With the Titans calling it quits on their 2015 second-round pick after just one season, Green-Beckham's character is now in question.
He does carry the potential to be a dominant receiver with his 6-foot-5 height and jump-ball ability. With the Eagles trading away a bounty of draft picks for the right to pick Carson Wentz, DGB's young, sky-high potential is likely what drew interest from Howie Roseman and the front office.
For the Titans, the trade technically makes sense if they're fed up with Green-Beckham; there's no point in keeping a player if he's only going to hurt the team, regardless of draft promise. But what should be troubling for the Eagles is that the Titans were willing to take Kelly in return.
Tennessee drafted right tackle Jack Conklin eighth overall and plan to start Taylor Lewan on the left side, so Kelly will be used as a depth blocker - not what you would expect in return for a second-round pick with star potential.
Best-case scenario: Green-Beckham becomes the number one wide out he was projected to be as a 17-year-old, but the odds are stacked against him.
If the Eagles lose Johnson to suspension and Green-Beckham isn't able to find an early rhythm with Bradford, this could be the move that fans point to when another season is potentially squandered due to personnel moves.