Eagles Still In Play For Boldin?

Once the Eagles sent the 28th overall pick to the Bills as part of a package resulting in the acquisition of left tackle Jason Peters, many assumed that this transaction took the Eagles out of play for receiver Anquan Boldin, since it would undoubtedly require the Eagles to cough up their other first-round pick -- No. 21 overall. Not so. “We’re always looking for players that we think can make us better,” president Joe Banner said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think we’ve proven many times that we’d be willing to do what it takes, whether it be a trade or do something with somebody’s contract in order to get them here.” And this apparently could mean shipping the Eagles’ other first-round pick to another team. “There are teams that start the year with only one first-round draft pick and they’ve traded them,” Banner said. “If we made another trade with a first-round draft pick, we’d just be in the same position as them. I think we’ll do whatever we evaluate to be the best move with any of the available players. . . . Some of the evaluation is about the quality of what we have at certain positions.” Right, some teams do surrender their first-round picks. But first-round picks can become young players who help form the nucleus of the team for years to come. Using one first-round pick for a 27-year-old tackle and, potentially, the other one for a 28-year-old receiver would result in two fewer good young players who could be part of the team deep into the next decade. And to the extent that quarterback Donovan McNabb wants the team to bring in more players so that they can win now, Banner’s remarks might cause McNabb to increase the pressure a bit -- which a potential trade demand as his ultimate leverage. But here’s what might actually be going on. Even if the Eagles have decided to use their other first-round pick, they need to feign interest in Boldin in the hopes of driving up the price that another team -- such as the Giants -- might pay for Boldin.