PHILADELPHIA -- It's the last weekend before the NFL draft. Does that mean it's the last weekend before the start of the Marcus Mariota era with the Philadelphia Eagles? Or have we all been wasting our time speculating about that for the past few months?

We'll know soon. While we wait, however, let's take some questions and comments via Twitter, with my responses to follow:

@SheridanScribe Eagles Question. If no trade of Kendricks, which 2 of the 3 start at ILB?

— Harvey Singer (@UVharvey) April 23, 2015

@sheridanscribe: Harvey, this is another example of Chip Kelly's tendency to be either A) completely candid with us, or B) totally capable of looking us in the eye while blowing smoke at us. At the NFL owners meetings, Kelly said basically that the Eagles will need all three of their inside linebackers: DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso. His reasoning: Last season, Kendricks missed four games with a calf injury and Ryans went on injured reserve for the second half of the season after rupturing an Achilles tendon. Casey Matthews tied Kendricks for most games started (11) by an inside linebacker. Alonso, of course, was on injured reserve up in Buffalo after tearing his ACL during a pre-training camp workout. Sure, it would be better to have Kendricks or Alonso stepping into the starting lineup than Matthews. But the NFL doesn't work that way. If you have a little surplus at one position, odds are that injuries are going to strike somewhere else. And if all three of those inside linebackers are healthy, then two are going to start and one is going to be unhappy about it. My best guess: If all three are on the team in September, Kendricks and Alonso will wind up starting. Ryans will get on the field enough for him to feel involved and to provide that leadership the Eagles missed so much last season. I just think that Ryans can handle the role better than the other guys and can take some solace in the fact that he's still playing after twice tearing Achilles tendons.

@SheridanScribe Chip Kelly will give up this years draft for Mariota and thats not mortgaging the future.

— MrFishGrease (@Mr_FishGrease) April 23, 2015

Sheridan: I can't be sure about the first part of your statement, Mr. Fish, but I agree 100 percent with the second part. I think it was Jimmy Kempski over at phillyvoice.com who said it best. Getting a franchise quarterback isn't mortgaging your future. It is your future. Kelly talks fast. He crams a lot of words into a relatively short amount of time. And it's hard to be sure when he's being completely honest and when he's saying what he thinks is the best thing to get him through a situation. But he has consistently talked about Mariota in the most glowing terms possible. At the combine, he compared Mariota's football knowledge to Peyton Manning's. During his interviews with NFL teams two years ago, he reportedly told people that Mariota will win "multiple" Super Bowls once he gets to the NFL. If Kelly believes any of that, how could he possibly do anything but try very hard to get Mariota? How do you sit passively by while a mobile Peyton Manning and future Super Bowl winner gets drafted by someone else? Every Super Bowl Mariota wins for the Titans or the Chargers is one that Kelly and the Eagles aren't winning, right? Of course, there is every chance Kelly is just talking up his guy and doesn't really believe all that stuff. In that case, maybe he can do just as well with Sam Bradford. But somehow, I don't think that's the case. I think Kelly really likes Mariota and almost has to exhaust every attempt to land him.

@sheridanscribe what do you make of didinger saying tebow is chips ego? If it was same situation, different name...is it still his ego?

— Chuck (@cmart6780) April 23, 2015

Sheridan: Here's what I think, Chuck. Coaches do tend to have pretty hefty egos, especially in the NFL. It's part of the makeup of a person who believes he can lead 53 very large men into a stadium and direct them to a victory over 53 other large men. On top of that, most coaches are serious wonks when it comes to Xs-and-Os and designing an offense or defense to get the most out of various players. Whatever you call it, I do believe that part of the attraction with Tim Tebow is knowing that other good coaches have tried and failed (or tried and given up) to take advantage of his skills. Whether it's ego (believing you can do better) or simply relishing the challenge, that plays a role in Kelly's decision to bring Tebow to Philadelphia. It's not necessarily a criticism to say that. Honestly, I think it was similar when Andy Reid signed Michael Vick after he got out of prison. Aside from his status as the most disliked player in football, there had already been evidence that Vick had serious limitations as an NFL quarterback. Reid was intrigued and challenged by the prospect of working with both aspects of Vick, the personal stuff and the football stuff. He did a decent job with both, but the whole experiment still wound up wasting a few seasons and leading to Reid's firing.