Carson Wentz has been traded, yet somehow the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback situation is not firmly answered, and I have no idea why.
Last year, the Eagles used the 53rd overall pick on Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, which, having recently given Wentz a 4-year, $128M extension in 2019, caught many people by surprise. Wentz ended up being benched mid-season, Hurts took over, and you would think he would be the resounding pick to start next season.
Some, however, have doubts. The talk of the town on Twitter with absolutely zero credible sources to back it up is “well, maybe the Eagles will take a quarterback with the 6th-overall pick in the draft.”
Stop it. I don’t understand that at all. Hurts was a dynamic college athlete that proved to be an accurate passer as well as an elite rusher. In his final season at Oklahoma, Hurts threw for 3,851 passing yards with a 69.7 percent completion percentage, 32 passing touchdowns, and only 8 picks. He also, unbelievably, ran for 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.
That’s just… silly. He has all the tools to be exactly what today’s NFL is looking for.
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In his rookie season, Hurts showed flashes of that dynamic skill set. In his second career start, Hurts became the ninth quarterback in NFL history with 300 passing yards, 3 TD passes, 0 interceptions and 60 rushing yards in a game and only the second rookie. He followed that up with another 300 passing yards and 60 rushing yards a week later. Hurts’ total of 169 rushing yards against the Saints and Cardinals is the second-highest in NFL history by a quarterback in his first two career starts. Lamar Jackson had 190. Randall Cunningham is third on that list with 150 in his rookie year of 1985.
With an abysmal, injury-laden offensive line, and an equally-thin wide receiver group, Hurts was able to do more for the Eagles offense than Wentz did at any point over the course of the season. He proved that he’s worth investing in.
On a team with as many issues as the Eagles, selecting a quarterback would be downright idiotic. The wise choice, in my opinion, would be to trade back. Let another team give up multiple picks to move up to sixth overall to select a quarterback, while you move back to address a bevy of needs (offensive line, wide receiver, secondary, and so on, and so on).
Hurts has the college and NFL resume to be given a chance. We’ve seen far worse QBs get a much longer leash (I’m looking at you, Mitch Trubisky).
The Eagles are starting to make other moves to clear space, which would indicate to me that they acknowledge they have a lot of needs. Veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson announced on his Instagram that he has been released, clearing $5.8 million. The Eagles are also expected to trade 30-year-old tight end Zach Ertz. These are smart moves. Do these things. What you do not need, however, is a first-round quarterback.
If the Eagles draft a QB No. 6 and Jalen Hurts isn’t given a chance to start, I’m going to riot.
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