Philadelphia Eagles: 3 things to know about QB Nick Mullens

Mullens shares company with Patrick Mahomes.

As pointed out by the good fellas over at Eagles Unfiltered, Nick Mullens shares some rather unique company when it comes to his first 16 career starts. Between eight starts in 2018 and eight starts in 2020, Mullens recorded an eye-popping total of 4,405 passing yards – a total that only trails Patrick Mahomes when it comes to passing yards though a QB’s first 16 starts.

A rather pointless statistic in the grand scheme of things, what this number does show us is that Mullens has flashed legitimate potential when thrusted into a starting role. A lot of this can likely be attributed to Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly scheme that he runs over in San Fran, but Mullens was still the one out there making the throws.

While Mullen’s career passing rating and career QBR aren’t the most impressive of numbers, you’re still talking about a player in their mid-twenties who’s produced as a starter in the NFL. That can be tough to find these days, even when you take into account the fact that Mullens is coming off elbow surgery.

A lot of people were disappointed that Howie Roseman didn’t draft a developmental QB this spring, and then quickly gave up on the before mentioned Jamie Newman. However, you can make a half decent argument that Mullens can still be viewed as a longterm developmental project due to his age and previous success in San Francisco.