Grocery shopping: Five college players to watch today who could be Eagles draft targets

As long as you're relaxing on the sofa taking in some college football action today, we'll point out some players who could be of varying interest to the Eagles. There are two great matchups today. The big one is (8) Michigan State at (3) Oregon. Obviously, Chip Kelly's affinity for former Oregon players is well documented by now, and they'll face a great team in the Spartans at 6:30pm EST. The appetizer is (15) USC at (11) Stanford at 3:30pm EST. Here are some players to watch in those two games.

Would Chip Kelly love to have Marcus Mariota in Philadelphia? My guess is... Yes he would. Is it a realistic possibility? Nah.

Assuming he doesn't fall off drastically or get significantly injured this season, Mariota is likely to be a high first round pick. He can run, he has a good arm, he's deadly throwing on the run, and perhaps just important as his physical attributes, he makes good decisions. For example, Mariota had an absurd streak of 343 pass attempts without throwing an interception.

Because he's such an intriguing prospect, the Eagles will likely have no shot of drafting Mariota unless they're awful this season, which I don't anticipate with 27 TD / 2 INT Nick Foles at the helm.

Still, Michigan State was 2nd in the nation last season in both yards allowed and points allowed, so this should be an outstanding test for Mariota that is worth watching. If Dallas is as bad in 2014 as I think they might be you could realistically be looking at Tony Romo's replacement here.

Assuming Nick Foles has a good season, the Eagles will not be expected to use a premium pick on a quarterback. However, their QB position beyond Foles in 2015 is unsettled. Mark Sanchez was excellent during the preseason. If he has to play during the regular season and performs well, he could be in line for a starting job somewhere. Sanchez is in Philly on a one-year deal. Meanwhile, Matt Barkley has been somewhat of a disappointment, and a player the Eagles have tried to deal.

The Eagles could be shopping for a QB to be an immediate backup either in free agency or through the draft. Cook has ideal size at 6'4, 220, a good arm, good enough athleticism, and I love his awareness. Here's a play that stood out to me in the Rose Bowl against Stanford. (All gifs via draftbreakdown.com)

Why is that play impressive? Well, Cook initially doesn't like what he sees downfield, so he steps up, bails from the pocket, and spots his FB coming open. 99% of QBs would just throw it, but watch as Cook takes a quick peek back behind him first because he had already likely seen the D lineman fly upfield to his left in his peripheral vision as the play was developing. Instead of just letting it rip, he wanted to make sure that D lineman wasn't bearing down on him to strip the ball away when he tried to throw. Once he knew it was safe, he delivered the pass on target and the FB was able to run after the catch anyway. That kind of awareness is so subtle, but impressive.

And here you see Cook's arm. There's nowhere for him to step into this throw, so he has to rifle it flat-footed, but look at the velocity and accuracy.

But it's not all good. 2013 was Cook's first year with extensive action at the college level, so you'd see occasional moments like this:

Cook will be a QB to watch all season long, and the Ducks should give him a nice challenge. If he shows good progression in his second year as a starter he could opt to come out.

Drummond was part of Michigan State's "No fly zone" defense mentioned above. He is a good cover safety with good size and ball-hawking skills. If the Eagles are looking for safeties who can cover slot receivers a la Malcolm Jenkins, a player like Drummond should be on their radar.

Here's his highlight reel. Check out the one-handed INT at the 2:33 mark.

#DuckBias? Check.

Bigger people beat up little people? Check.

Former big-time high school recruit? Check. (61st ranked high school recruit in the nation in 2012).

The Eagles have a history of acquiring all three of the above, and Armstead checks all three boxes. Armstead is still considered a raw player, but with good agility for his size.

Again, here is a player projected to be drafted top 15, which means he will likely be gone by the time the Eagles are picking in the first round. He's already technically sound, with good athleticism and power. Here's his game last season against a talented Notre Dame defensive line:

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