After the Carson Wentz trade, questions surrounding the Eagles QB situation have been soaring. Jalen Hurts was good last year, but with a new HC in town, Hurts’ time in Philly may be in doubt.
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“We only have one quarterback on our roster, and it’s definitely not going to stay that way.” That’s what Philly’s GM Howie Roseman had to say about the QB situation in Philadelphia. “We’ve always tried to value that position and to have depth at that position. I don’t see any of that changing here as we go forward.”
Roseman has known to be shrewd with the quarterbacks already on his roster. In 2016, even after signing Sam Bradford and Chase Daniels, he forfeited big to move up in the draft and pick Carson Wentz. And after signing Wentz to an NFL record extension, he picked Jalen Hurts in the second round only a year later.
Even though hurts has the confidence of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, his place as the Eagles franchise QB may be in a conundrum. With that said here are the cases for Jalen Hurts and drafting a QB in 2021:
The Case for Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts came in when Wentz was benched with 4 games left in the season. And with that, the Eagles team got an instant lift in spirit. He threw for a respectable 1, 061 yards and 6 touchdowns against 4 interceptions. However, Hurts was transcendent on the ground. In 4 games he rushed for 300+ yards on only 51 carries (5.9 YAC).
Hurts may not have lit the league on fire, but to do what he did after no offseason and playing behind one of the leagues highest paid QB’s, he does warrant a second look.
The 2021 draft is stacked with receiving talent. One of the Eagles biggest holes in their team was the lack of a star No.1 wideout to scare NFL defences. Ja’Marr Chase out of LSU, 2021 Heisman winner Devonta Smith and Florida TE Kyle Pitts have been raved about by draft analysts heading towards the draft.
So with the No. 6 picks, in all likeliness, at least one of these studs will still be on the board. We don’t know if Hurts is the answer, but drafting either of these 3 and sticking with Hurts makes a lot of sense. The Eagles could see how Hurts evolves and develops and re-evaluate after his first full season.
The Case for drafting a quarterback with the 6th pick.
Hurts inspired fear into NFL defences primarily because of his strength as a runner, and not because of his arm talent. While that may have worked now, teams will have a lot more time to prepare for Hurts’ legs in 2021.
Even though Hurts was accurate in his one season with the Oklahoma Sooners, downfield throws were an issue, and the same held true in the NFL. He also completed only 51% of his passes in his 4 starts which is alarming.
The second thing that works against Jalen Hurts is the hiring of new HC Nick Sirianni. Nick Sirianni was previously the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.
Sirianni had a lot of success in his time with the Colts, but that success was primarily with Andrew luck and Phillip Rivers, 2 QB’s who are more conventional at the position rather than a dual-threat. Sirianni not being around when Hurts was drafted doesn’t do him any favours either.
Lastly, 5 Qb’s are expected to go within the first 10 picks and all of them are absolute studs. If the Eagles fall in love with one of these quarterbacks, in all likeliness they wouldn’t play a waiting game. Especially with Philly and Howie Roseman’s history with trading up to draft QB’s in the first round.
Trevor Lawrence is a lock to go No.1 in the draft and getting him might prove to be too difficult. But BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and NDSU’s Trey Lance all have talents that on the surface, are much superior to that of Jalen Hurts.
Jalen Hurts could go on to have a career like Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott, 2 QB’s that were drafted late but turned out to be absolute gems. However, the odds of that happening aren’t very high. 2019 2nd round draft pick
Drew Lock impressed many in his 5 starts during his rookie season as the QB for the Broncos. However, he couldn’t live up to the expectations in 2020 as the team went a dismal 5-11.
Jalen Hurts will be one of the storylines to look out for in 2021. With a possible star wideout being drafted, it will be interesting to see how Hurts will perform after a full offseason under his belt. Regardless, only time will tell whether he deserves to be the Eagles franchise QB.
