Philadelphia Eagles: The case for building around Jalen Hurts in 2021

Whether you like it, love it, or hate it – or really any emotion in between – the deal is done: Carson Wentz is officially a member of the Indianapolis Colts, and his era of Philadelphia Eagles football is over.

While there are some examples of similar situations in sports history, the Texans’ current situation with Deshaun Watson comes to mind, there really isn’t an analogous trade in Philly sports history.

Sure, Terrell Owens’ tenure in South Philly burned out in spectacular fashion in a makeshift gym fashioned out of his driveway, but he was only an Eagle for a year and a half. Others could look at the decision to trade Donovan McNabb intradivision to Washington, but he was entering his 12th NFL season and simply wasn’t the same player he once was.

The Jrue Holiday trade? The Sergei Bobrovsky trade? I have truly never seen anything like this, and it’s honestly pretty incredible that such a deal is finally done.

We always knew it would be, but as the days turned into weeks, it just felt like maybe it wasn’t. Maybe some strange, aggressively Howie Roseman swerve would happen, and the Eagles would somehow end up retaining Wentz after all. But, once Doug Pederson was fired and the reported words out of Wentz’s camp remained unchanged, that idea flew out the window.

And just like that, it’s over.

Carson Wentz is sixth months older than me. He was drafted during my final semester of college, and like many, I assumed he’d be the Eagles quarterback for my entire adult life.

But now, well, we have to turn the page and figure out what best puts the Eagles in a position to maintain continued success for the foreseeable future. To me, at least, the best path to that goal is by committing the 2021 NFL Draft to build a winner around Jalen Hurts without intentionally entering into another self-inflicted quarterback controversy… at least for one season.

Can Jalen Hurts be the Philadelphia Eagles’ franchise QB? Let’s find out in 2021.

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Jalen Hurts is an incredibly polarizing quarterback prospect.

He initially shined as a member of the Crimson Tide before being benched for eventual top-10 pick Tua Tungavailoa. He then went to play for Lincoln Riley, who helped him shine versus Big-12 defenses, but it’s hard to quantify just how much that success is attributable to his progress versus the QB friendliness of the OU scheme.

With that being said, the Eagles were clearly sold enough by Hurts’ developments as a passer to select him 53rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and according to Ed Kracz of Eagles Maven, that hasn’t changed one bit some 10 months later.

Hurts is a smart, cerebral athlete who makes quick decisions and can make plays with both his arms and his legs. While some have criticized the 22-year-old for his underwhelming abilities to go through his reads before taking off running, an aspect of his game that did improve at OU but not as much as some would have liked, it’s hard to really judge that facet of his game fairly when the Eagles’ offense gave up 65(!) sacks in 2020.

Is Hurts the sort of once-in-a-generation quarterback who forever changes the NFL landscape as we know it? No. That would be Trevor Lawrence, and it’s hard to argue with that statement based on his impeccable career at Clemson.

The Eagles, as you know, won’t have a chance to draft Lawrence with the sixth overall pick because he’ll surely be giving interviews wearing a Jacksonville Jaguars hat when Roseman and company go on the clock. The Eagles may or may not have a chance to select either of the other top-3 quarterbacks available in the 2021 NFL Draft, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields, and it’s a legitimate question as to whether either player is the sort of franchise changer who will make Philly fans forget about Carson Wentz anytime soon.

If the Eagles’ brass genuinely feels like either player is of that caliber, then by all means draft them, maybe even trade up with our old friend Joe Douglas to guarantee they get their guy. The easiest way to become a perennial contender is to do so behind the arm of a Pro Bowl quarterback, and if you don’t have one, do everything in your power to get one.

With that being said, the Eagles clearly liked Hurts enough to select him in the second round, knowing full well it wouldn’t go over well with Wentz. Did they do so because they thought Hurts could pick up some gimmicky hards in two QB sets, or because Roseman and Co had the Heisman finalist scouted as a starting-caliber quarterback and felt the value of landing such a player in the second round was just too good to pass up?

For all of our sake, I genuinely hope it’s the latter.

So, assuming the Eagles genuinely do feel like Hurts has starter upside and that neither Wilson nor Fields is a guaranteed franchise quarterback in the same vein as Lawrence, why not give him a chance to be the guy in 2021 and use this year’s draft to build the strongest team possible around the young signal-caller?

Now, if you’re a Hurts hater, you probably loathe this idea. You think he’s bad and want to spend another golden ticket on a young QB? If that’s you, there’s nothing I can say to change your mind, but riddle me this; if Hurts is so bad, wouldn’t playing him for 16 games in 2021 just guarantee the Eagles another top-10 first-round pick in 2022?

Sounds counterintuitive, right? But it’s really not. If the Eagles are able to land a number one pass catcher in the first round – regardless of whether that player lines up in the slot, at the X or is technically a tight end – fortify their secondary with a true number 2 outside cornerback and can further fortify their roster with their two third-round picks, it should make the team better in 2021. It would, theoretically, make the team better in 2022, 2023, and 2024 too, but in 2021 specifically adding, say, four contributors would make the Eagles a better team.

How much better? That’s up for debate, but one can look at a team like the 2018 Arizona Cardinals, who had Pro Bowlers like Patrick Peterson and Chandler Jones all over their roster but ultimately couldn’t overcome below-average QB play from rookie quarterback Josh Rosen and were able to secure their long-term signal-caller of the future, Kyler Murray, with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Was Rosen a bad quarterback? Yeah, as much as it hurts my UCLA heart to say it, but they decided to land a quarterback tailor-made for their new head coach’s scheme and are now reaping the benefits of that decision as one of the brightest young teams in the NFC.

Once again, if the Eagles feel as though either Fields or Wilson is “tailor-made” for Nick Sirianni’s system or believe he can formulate such a system around their player’s supreme talents, then great, do it. But if neither player presents that sort of upside, why not give Hurts a chance to prove his mettle and see how it goes?

Best case, the Eagles shock the world and return to the postseason a la Chip Kelly’s first year in 2013. Worst case, they stink, and the Eagles draft their next first-round quarterback and present him with a roster one-year further along under Sirianni with hopefully better weapons and a stronger offensive line.

We’ve all see young quarterbacks like Sam Darnold have their developmental track altered due to prolonged play on a bad team. Does anyone want to see a player like Fields have to sink or swim on an incomplete roster and develop bad habits as a result? That isn’t how Dashaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, or even Justin Herbert found success when they initially hit the field and isn’t a proven path to success at the game’s highest level.

No, in that regard, giving Sirianni a year to figure things out with Hurts at the helm may present the easiest transition from being a non-play-calling offensive wunderkind into a proven NFL commodity. It also gives the front office a chance to see his offense works and further refine their scouting to see which players fit the scheme the best.

Drafting the best payer available is always a good idea but doing so without taking into account the specific schematic needs of a team – i.e. power blocking versus zone blocking, man-press corners versus Tampa 2 off corners, a fullback, etc. – isn’t really going best player available.

At this point, the Eagles have too many holes to be hyperfocused on any one position, or, football gods forbid, trading multiple picks to move up to take one specific player.

Next. 3 reasons the Philadelphia Eagles should consider a QB in the first round. dark

Whether you love Carson Wentz and hate Jalen Hurts, love Jalen Hurts and hate Carson Wentz, or fall somewhere in between, that’s really neither here nor there. As tough as it may be to see the tenure of a franchise quarterback be limited to five seasons, thems, unfortunately, are the breaks and the entire fanbase has to look forward to the future to figure out what the best path forward for the Philadelphia Eagles may be. While some will fight fervently that selecting a quarterback is best – whichever one falls to Philly at six overall – or even suggest the Eagles should trade up to pick their next big man signal-caller, don’t discount the idea of building around Hurts, at least in 2021, to see what he can do. Worst case, they’re right back in this situation next year.

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