Jalen Hurts

The biggest mystery on the Eagles is Jalen Hurts. The team spent a second round pick on him in 2020, hoping he would prove to be a good backup to Carson Wentz and possibly a role player for some trick plays. A year later, Hurts is the starting QB. Does he have the ability to be a good starting QB in the NFL?

Last year’s numbers weren’t pretty. He started four games and played on a mess of an offense, but completing 52 percent of your passes isn’t good no matter what the circumstances. We did see flashes. There were times when Hurts looked like he could be a good QB.

There just wasn’t any consistency. Talent isn’t enough in the NFL. You have to be able to play at a high level week in and week out. Heck, we didn’t even seen Hurts have a complete game. He would either start hot and finish cold or vice-versa.

Some of that is due to being a rookie. Still, we have to be honest about what we saw. Hoping for the best is fine, but it isn’t a plan. The Eagles are going to give Hurts this year to show what he can do. If that isn’t good enough, they have the picks to go after a top QB next spring.

Hurts is doing everything he can to succeed. He worked out with some of his receivers recently.

Just a little light work.@JalenHurts x @DeVontaSmith_6#KlutchFootball @Eagles pic.twitter.com/Z0nFmvjDx5

— Nicole Lynn (@AgentNicoleLynn) June 26, 2021

Quez Watkins from yesterday's workout with Jalen Hurts.

His cuts look more fluid. Good footwork, sink in hips, and explosion out of the cut. Promising!#Eagles (from @CoachBrown_MDN) pic.twitter.com/3tOQwcMYgY

— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) June 27, 2021

The one thing I do know about Hurts is that he is very driven. He will do whatever he can to succeed. I don’t know what the results will be, but there won’t be a lack of effort. He’s wired like an NFL QB.

Hurts has some believers in Philly. Outsiders tend to be doubters.

The Top 40 QB is done. Putting Josh Allen over Aaron Rodgers was the hardest call of the whole list for me. I talk through the Top 4 here:https://t.co/oyfwxglhiL

Also taking questions for tomorrow's #AskMeAnything pod with @PaulWBurmeister pic.twitter.com/8acGerlxI8

— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) June 24, 2021

Chris Simms didn’t even have Hurts as one of the Top 40 QBs in the league. Hurts is below Kellen Mond, a non-first round rookie from this spring. Hurts is below Case Keenum. I don’t even know who he plays for anymore. Keenum did help the Vikings reach the NFC title game in 2017 (anyone know what happened?). Last year he was a backup for the Browns.

Simms is welcome to his opinion. Six months from now we’ll know if Simms was right or wrong. I tend to think Hurts will play well enough to crack the Top 40. I just don’t know if he’ll get to the Top 20. And that’s what the Eagles need to see if they are going to commit to him.

The team needs to see more than potential. They need more than flashes. They need Hurts to play well enough to make them believe he’s The Guy. Anything less than that and they must go get a QB.

There is a lot of pressure on Hurts this year, but he’s been given a great opportunity. He’ll have a chance to show what he can do. We know Hurts is a gifted runner and it sure seems like the new staff is going to embrace that. Then they drafted DeVonta Smith to give him a special weapon. This offense has potential. There are some interesting pieces for Hurts to work with.

I’m both curious and excited to see what he can do.

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