Sam Bradford marginalized by Eagles' trade up to No. 2 pick

— -- The Philadelphia Eagles' move to acquire the second overall choice in the 2016 NFL draft -- to select a quarterback, as general manager Howie Roseman said they would -- was one quite a few NFL insiders doubted would happen.

"I just don't see how you can draft a quarterback that high because you immediately make Sam Bradford obsolete in the process," an executive from another team said before the trade went down.

That same executive joked Wednesday that the Eagles might as well put up a billboard declaring one of their quarterbacks -- Bradford, presumably -- to be available on the cheap. Because now that Philadelphia is all-in for a quarterback, Chase Daniel looks like the ideal bridge starter to whichever QB the Eagles draft. Daniels knows coach Doug Pederson's offense and has a deal with $5 million guaranteed in 2017. The second overall choice will be starting by 2017 or earlier. That leaves Bradford marginalized even if the Eagles say for now that Bradford is their projected starter.

"There is a commitment level when you take a quarterback that high that he becomes your starter as soon as he is ready," the executive said, "and I don't know how you can get a guy like that ready when you are clear that you are playing Bradford at least for this year, or Bradford is competing with Daniel."

The Eagles gave up the eighth overall choice in addition to picks in the third and fourth round this season, plus a 2017 first-rounder and 2018 second-rounder. They got the second overall choice and a 2017 fourth-rounder in return. No team makes that kind of move for any position other than a quarterback who will be playing sooner rather than later.

General managers, salary-cap managers, analytics specialists and other league insiders who were consulted earlier this week questioned the Eagles' outward interest in drafting a quarterback early. Two said they thought the Eagles hoped to drive up interest in quarterbacks so they could improve their chances of landing the player they really want, which could have been Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott. After all, the Eagles had given an $11 million signing bonus to Bradford and $5 million in 2017 guarantees to Daniel. But Philadelphia's sudden move into the second spot showed the Eagles were not bluffing when they crisscrossed the country evaluating college quarterbacks this spring.

All the insiders I polled before the Eagles-Browns trade went down thought the Rams-Titans trade gave Cleveland a better shot at maximizing value from the second pick should Cleveland decide to move down in the order. They did not anticipate the haul would be quite this sweet.

"It helps if there are multiple teams that want the second quarterback," a salary-cap manager said. "If the Browns can portray that there is a second team and then the 49ers or Eagles like whoever will be available at No. 2, there is the potential for that pick to be very valuable."

That appears to be exactly what happened. It's less clear to what extent the 49ers might be in the market for a quarterback early in this draft.