Quarterbacks are the key for who's available at No. 14 for Eagles

In a draft meeting last Wednesday afternoon, the Eagles' decision-makers discussed one of the draft's biggest questions: When will the top quarterbacks go off the board?

For the Eagles, that question will determine what prospects are available at No. 14. If two quarterbacks are drafted in the top 13 picks, a top-10 prospect could fall to the Eagles at No. 14. If not, then the caliber of player could be different – or the Eagles could be in an appealing spot for a team trying to trade up to acquire a quarterback.

"Quarterbacks in this draft are talented guys," Eagles executive Howie Roseman said. "It's really interesting for teams who are looking for quarterbacks. We are not going to be looking for quarterbacks in the first round, and it's a premium position. It'll be interesting to see how many come off before we go. It's hard to get a sense of what that is right now, and it's hard for us to go into the draft and say, 'This many are going to come off,' because you've seen years where you don't think any are going to come off in the top 15 and four come off because teams are going, 'Is there any chance I'm going to come back and get one?'

"If you look at it this year, and you're a team that's picking in the top 10 or top 15 in the second round, you've got to make that judgment about whether you can get that guy by moving up or waiting."

>> Click here for more coverage of the 2017 NFL draft in Philadelphia

The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback and draft at Nos. 1 and 12. The San Francisco 49ers could take a quarterback at No. 2. The Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 4), New York Jets (6), and Buffalo Bills (10) have also been linked to quarterbacks. The New Orleans Saints (11) and Arizona Cardinals (13) have aging quarterbacks and could be in the market for replacements.

This draft does not have the consensus top quarterbacks of past years, which is why there's more mystery about when QBs will get selected.

In 2014, when the Eagles missed out on their top targets and traded down to eventually take Marcus Smith, only one quarterback went off the board before the Eagles' original selection. Had another quarterback gone in the top 20, they might have been able to pick the player they wanted at No. 22. In 2012, when the Eagles traded up to take Fletcher Cox at No. 12, they benefited from seeing three quarterbacks go in the top eight.

If Mitchell Trubisky and Deshaun Watson go before the Eagles pick on Thursday, they could benefit from a top player sliding down the draft board – maybe Alabama's Jonathan Allen or O.J. Howard. If not, the Eagles might be left with a less-heralded prospect.

"We've got to put 14 guys on our board and be comfortable with the 14th guy on our board," Roseman said. "And that goes for every scenario - zero quarterbacks drafted, two quarterbacks drafted."