I’ve been extremely intrigued with the idea of hiring Chip Kelly in Philadelphia ever since around Thanksgiving.  After first coming up with the idea, I’ve been enamored with future moves that they could make to bring the Chip Kelly offense to the NFL.

Nothing like seeing pieces fall into place.  With the addition of Dennis Dixon and the decision to keep Michael Vick, what does that mean for Nick Foles?  Foles was a 3rd round pick for the Eagles last year, and had a bumpy road in his first season, but he showed a ton of potential.  I’ve been a fan of his since I watched him during late night games when he was at Arizona.  I think he’s got a great future in the NFL, provided he gets on a team that will utilize him correctly.

As a guy that ran 40-times in the range of 4.95-5.14, Foles is not going to be able to excel in Chip Kelly’s offense unless he alters it completely.  The best solution, is for Chip Kelly to sign another quarterback, and then to deal Nick Foles to Kansas City.  Kansas City is a perfect fit for Foles for a multitude of reasons, but the most prevalent one is the fact that his old coach Andy Reid, the man who wanted to draft him, is there.  Reid can run a passing spread offense like he ran in Philly which would be a perfect fit for Foles.

College Stats:

Pro Stats:

As you can see, Foles is an accurate passer despite the turnover issues.  The turnovers weren’t all his fault though, he was playing behind one of the worst and oft-injured offensive lines in the league.  You can also see, that running is not a strong suit for Foles.  With an offense predicated on the threat of a quarterback who can run, not necessarily having him run, Foles will not mold well with Chip.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Foles trade value won’t get them anything higher than what they spent on him, but that may not be the worst thing.  With the availability of Kevin Kolb in Arizona, Alex Smith in San Francisco and Matt Flynn in Seattle, his value is going to be driven down.  Besides, quarterbacks that are going to be guaranteed backups will never command that much value in a trade.

Personally, I don’t think Kolb, Smith or Flynn would be great in Kansas City.  If Andy Reid liked Kolb, he would have never been willing to trade him to Arizona for a Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  Alex Smith could work and I wouldn’t rule him out ending up in Kansas City if they can’t get Foles.  He’s a very accurate passer, but for some reason, I see him ending up in Philly before Kansas City.  Perhaps it’s because he’s a mobile quarterback who is highly intelligent.  Flynn meanwhile, will cost the Chiefs a lot of money, and they already have the highest cap in the entire NFL; which is another reason that Foles fits perfectly because he’s got a cheap contract.

Drafting Geno Smith seems to be one of the popular ideas for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he’s shown that he has some work left to do.  This is a weak quarterback class, and the only reason he’s being discussed at #1 overall is because there is a need for quarterbacks. Smith has shown flashes and he is definitely accurate enough to be successful in the NFL, the only issue that arises is the fact that he was terrible against teams with good defenses.  Plus, by drafting Geno Smith, you don’t address the concerns on offensive line, when you have a franchise left tackle in Luke Joeckel just sitting there.  Geno also doesn’t know Andy Reid’s playbook, and Nick Foles already knows it by heart.

Foles highlights show that he has the arm to make every throw that you will need him to make in the NFL.  By trading for him, the Kansas City Chiefs can then take Joeckel #1, and then use their 2nd round pick to address the defensive side of the ball, particularly their rushing defense.

Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn are clearly not cutting it at quarterback.  Nick Foles will get better with the receiving options that are available to him in Kansas City.  This is of course, assuming that the Chiefs are smart and that they re-sign Dwayne Bowe.  With Bowe, and Jonathan Baldwin, you already have a very solid core of receivers, and Baldwin and Bowe will provide Foles with bigger passing targets than the group in Philly.  Tony Moeaki showed a lot of promise at tight end prior to getting hurt, and provided they re-sign Peyton Hillis, they would have a solid duo of runningbacks again.  He would have a better balanced offense to work with, and more versatile receivers.

Offensive line wise, they could improve it greatly by re-signing Branden Albert and drafting Joeckel.  Albert was a guard when he came out of college and the Chiefs moved him to left tackle.  There have been rumors that Albert won’t be re-signed by the Chiefs, but I don’t see them letting a solid offensive lineman walk.  Albert moving to right tackle would be better for him, given the fact he is coming off of injury, and if they wanted to be even smarter, they could move him to left guard, the position that made him a first round pick in 2008.  Solidifying the offensive line would be crucial for their passing game, and would make Jamaal Charles an even bigger threat than he is.

To get Nick Foles would take only a 3rd round pick at the absolute most, in my mind.  Not because he isn’t going to be a good quarterback, but because the other quarterbacks on the market and his team’s new system drive down his value.  This would allow the Chiefs to use their 2nd round pick on a defensive player.  The Chiefs ran a 3-4 last year and it’s unclear if they are going to move to a 4-3.  If they do, then they’re going to need another defensive tackle to play inside, and this is conveniently a defensive tackle heavy draft.  If they choose to stick with the 3-4, then they’re going to need another inside linebacker to pair with Derrick Johnson or another defensive end to potentially replace Tyson Jackson.

The point is, by not drafting a quarterback 1st overall, they can solidify their offensive line and begin repairing a horrible run defense and average pass defense.  It allows them to add a cheaper quarterback that already knows the playbook and can excel in the offense Andy Reid will run in Kansas City.  Provided they keep Dwayne Bowe and Branden Albert, their passing offense will improve by leaps and bounds this offseason.  It’s a simple move and Kansas City has enough pieces in place to be able to be a playoff contender next year.  That is, if Chip Kelly is willing to part with Nick Foles.