Greg Cosell's analysis: Breaking down the Eagles-Bills trade

The Philadelphia Eagles are a fascinating team this offseason, and their big trade this week makes them even more interesting.

Let’s assume Eagles coach Chip Kelly wants to draft University of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. That’s a reasonable assumption, considering all that has been said about it. What that ultimately means is that if the Eagles have any chance of moving up to draft Mariota, they have to give up draft picks, and likely draft picks from this season. A team positioned high enough in the draft for the Eagles to take Mariota will want to get better right away.

So if we assume that’s what the Eagles want to do (that's not to say it's a guarantee to happen, of course), the Eagles can’t get better through the draft because they’ll have to give away so many picks. So what do the Eagles have to do? They have to cut cap. And they just got rid of about $10 million of cap charges by trading running back LeSean McCoy.

It’s just my sense – I don’t know it as a fact – that Kelly is far more comfortable with veterans than draft choices anyway. I don’t think he’d mind trading some if he could sign two or three free agents instead. And a free agent like Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell is not going to come cheap.

So the Eagles’ trade might have been done with an organizational philosophy or a bigger plan in mind. But let’s take a closer look at McCoy, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills.

I don’t think McCoy ran as well last season as he has in the past, and certainly not as well as he ran in 2013. His numbers reflected that. But I don’t think that he’s at the end of the rope, considering he’ll be just 27 years old. He’s a very, very good back. But he is a certain kind of runner.

McCoy is a space runner. In 2013, he had a lot of space. All five starters on the Eagles’ offensive line started every game and they were great. McCoy had a lot of room to run. When the Eagles had personnel issues on the line in 2014, McCoy didn’t have that space, and when that happens he tends to bounce runs outside. That’s not necessarily a knock, because McCoy has bounced runs outside and made many phenomenal plays that way. But that’s his style as a runner and if the play isn’t blocked well with initial space and a clear seem, his tendency of bouncing it outside is exacerbated.

Here’s an example from Week 4 at San Francisco. The line didn’t block it great, and with no clear seam McCoy bounced it outside and was stopped for no gain.

McCoy isn’t a sustaining runner, in that when there’s 3 yards for him to get he’s not going to fight through traffic and get 6 yards. Again, that’s not a knock on McCoy, it’s just the type of runner he is. I think the Eagles would have an easier time replacing what he does compared to the Seahawks replacing what Marshawn Lynch does or the Cowboys replacing what DeMarco Murray does. Backs who can grind it out and can bring a punishing mentality for 25 or more carries are hard to find. More backs can hit gaps, especially in the Eagles’ offense that is built on spacing and stretching the field. But McCoy is a tremendous back and the Bills will play to McCoy’s strengths. And I really think they made a good move trading for Matt Cassel.

Cassel is your classic (for lack of a better term) system player. He needs a strong run game, and obviously that will be the foundation of the Bills’ offense. Cassel has always been a good play-action quarterback. He has never had a problem turning his back to the defense and then getting his head around and figuring out the coverage. In some ways, Cassel is no different – and arguably better at times – than Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton. He fits a system, and that’s what the Bills are going to do.

The Eagles didn’t just get cap space in the trade. I really like linebacker Kiko Alonso, who the Bills will send to Philadelphia. I think he’s a true three-down linebacker. He can play the run and the pass. He’s big, physical, very athletic, can cover in space and he can blitz. So, he can do just about anything you could ask of him. He’s a really good player, even though he’s coming off an ACL surgery. I think the Eagles will have the NFL’s most athletic inside linebacker combination in a 3-4 defense between him and Mychal Kendricks.

The trade has benefits to both sides. We’ll just have to see how it fits into the Eagles’ bigger plans for this offseason.

- - - - - - -

NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.