Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts could only dream of Kyler Murray’s weapons

Kyle Murray is a better prospect than Jalen Hurts.

He was touted higher coming out of high school, earned far more individual accolades for his college career, and was even drafted in the first round by two separate teams in two separate sports, which is two more than Hurts, who didn’t hear his name called in the NFL Draft until pick 52.

But, despite this very clear distinction, Murray and Hurts will forever be linked to some degree because the latter replaced the former at Oklahoma.

There is, however, another very clear distinction between Murray and Hurts that could severely impact how the two players’ pro careers parallel: How the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles have chosen to build around their promising young signal-callers.

The Philadelphia Eagles could take a page from Arizona’s playbook.

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When the Arizona Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen 10th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, it was with every intention that he’d be the team’s new franchise quarterback.

Sure, the Cards had just secured the rights to former number one overall quarterback Sam Bradford in free agency to step in as QB1 if need be, but with Carson Palmer officially leaving Arizona to retire – doesn’t that usually go the other way around? – GM Steve Keim was ready to set up first-year head coach Steve Wilks with a young quarterback to build around moving forward.

Was Rosen perfect as a rookie? Heavens no. In 14 games of action – 13 as a starter – the former UCLA Bruin recorded 11 touchdowns versus 14 interceptions, was sacked 45(!) times and finished out his otherwise underwhelming debut campaign with a 3-10 record. While the team could have conceivably given things a second go, maybe with a more creative play-caller installed at offensive coordinator, the Cardinals opted to instead fire their first-year head coach in pursuit of former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury and gave him a say in who would be the perfect signal caller for his system.

With the first overall pick in his/their back pocket, that choice was easy for Kingsbury: He chose Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray.

Again, Rosen was a fine developmental quarterback that some teams would have happily kept under center for the duration of their rookie contract, but the Cards saw a player viewed as a starting quarterback in their draft – with a higher draft grade than Rosen – and pulled the trigger to get him in the house and under contract.

Sidebar: I don’t think the Eagles believed that Jalen Hurts was a better prospect than Carson Wentz. They undoubtedly did think he could be a starting-caliber quarterback, though; otherwise, they wouldn’t have drafted him in the second round.

Since arriving in Arizona, the Cardinals have done everything in their power to make sure Murray has everything he needs to succeed, regardless of how it looked on the outside. Keim almost immediately traded Rosen for pennies on the dollar, selected three wide receivers and a tight end with four of the team’s next 10 draft picks, and went on to acquire offensive stalwarts Kenyan Drake and DeAndre Hopkins via trade within Murray’s first calendar year with the team to guarantee he was in the best position to succeed moving forward.

And in 2021, the Cardinals have double and even tripled down, building a contender using the spoils of having a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback on a rookie-scale contract.

First came the decision to sign J.J. Watt after the face of the Texans was granted his release from Houston earlier this year. While Watt won’t directly contribute to the potency of the Cardinals’ offense – unless, of course, Kingsbury decides to use ex-Central Michigan tight end as a goal line fullback – having a strong pass rush is one of the easiest ways to even the time of possession and insure additional offensive snaps for a pass-happy offense.

The Cards then went out and not only signed A.J. Green to help transition into a post-Larry Fitzgerald world but also traded a third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for center Rodney Hudson and a seventh-round pick to help bolster an offensive line that allowed 27 sacks in 2020.

Now granted, one could quibble with the team’s decision to focus on signing over-30-year-old free agents to short-term deals when they have a 23-year-old quarterback under contract for the foreseeable future, but it’s hard to be too harsh on any general manager adding household names to a roster ready to win now.

Even if Green, Hudson, and Watt are no longer on the roster or even in the league by the time Murray starts playing under his second contract, the Cardinals will surely supplement their current roster with quality players at positions of value in the draft and build an offensive machine with readily available replacement parts when one or more players fall off.

Do you know who would love to have a pair of future Hall of Famers like Green and Hopkins to throw to? Yeah, That’d be Jalen Hurts, who hasn’t been offered the same luxuries as his fellow former Sooner as he enters his second season in Midnight Green.

Unlike the Cardinals, who have made acquiring veteran playmakers to ease their young signal caller’s transition to the NFL, the Eagles passed on landing any of the available big-name receivers like Hopkins or Stefon Diggs last spring – albeit, when Carson Wentz was still expected to be the team’s starting quarterback – and have used the legal tampering window just prior to the start of 2021’s free agency period to shed cap in order to get compliant.

With $40-plus million in dead money on the books – including an insane $33.8 million from trading Wentz – the Eagles have taken away weapons like Alshon Jeffrey, DeSean Jackson, and eventually, Zach Ertz from their young signal-caller without adding a single fresh face and will have to hope they land the player they like atop the 2021 NFL Draft to give Hurts a chance to win.

Sidebar II: Wait, isn’t that drafting for… need? Isn’t that a bad thing?

While most teams love the idea of having a cheap quarterback because it allows them to fill out the rest of the roster with expensive veteran players, Hurts will instead have to sink or swim with Wentz’s cap hit, limiting the talent around him and preventing Howie Roseman from landing a free agent difference maker a la Jeffrey in 2017.

And if Hurts, with a potentially worse supporting cast than the year prior, falters in his first full season under center, who will the blame fall on? Will it be Roseman for not putting together a quality roster? History says no. How about Nick Sirianni? Well, he did sign a multi-year contract with the team, but that doesn’t really mean anything – just ask Steve Wilks.

No, it’ll likely result in Hurts being called a bum and the Eagles using their first-round pick on a quarterback next season, hoping that that guy can thrive on an even older roster.

In a perfect world, Jalen Hurts would have been given every chance to succeed right out of the gate without having to join a quarterbacks’ room with a $100 million man. In a perfect world, Nick Sirianni would have been able to pick a quarterback perfect for his scheme. And in a perfect world, the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn’t have $40-plus million in dead money against their cap that ultimately prevents the team from fielding a competitive team built with quality free agents, veteran ring chasers, and ascending young draftees. They’d give their quarterback a situation like that of Kyler Murray and watch as the confident 23-year-old blossoms into a star in a neutering environment, as opposed to hoping their signal-caller can overcome the sum of his roster’s parts and emerge like a rose out of the concrete. Historically speaking, that’s a lot easier said than done.