Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts’ brain matters more than improved brawn

In case you haven’t heard, or should I say seen, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has gotten a good bit bigger heading into the 2022 NFL season – or, at least that’s what a now-viral picture from training camp clearly shows.

For the sake of argument, let’s say the picture is legit, and Hurts has taken it upon himself to get bigger, what does that mean for his immediate future? Well, first of all, it means that Hurts spent his spring working as hard on his body as he’s been reportedly working on his game. That’s commendable and deserves some respect.

The extra muscle could also give Hurts a little more juice as a passer, more explosion as a runner, and more bulk to absorb blows from hungry edge rushers looking to bring down one of the most athletic running quarterbacks in the NFL today.

But do you know what? Jalen Hurts putting on 10, 15, or even 20 pounds of muscle,  though impressive, isn’t going to magically make him a top-10 passer. No, if Hurts, and by extension, the Philadelphia Eagles, are going to take a step forward, his biggest improvements need to be from the brain, not the brawn.

Jalen Hurts needs to make quick decisions for the Philadelphia Eagles this fall.

Jalen Hurts is a fast player in the open field. He can breeze past linebackers, power through slot cornerbacks, and give most of the NFL’s safeties a run for their money.

What Hurts wasn’t particularly fast at, in 2021 at least, was reading opposing defenses and making quick decisions.

Despite having a perfectly acceptable release and an ability to hit his receivers in stride within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage, Hurts’ processing often resulted in holding the ball a bit too long and having to run around once the windows on his receivers’ routes were slammed shut.

I mean, is it any wonder Hurts ranked first by a .17 second margin in average time to throw according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stat? I don’t care what the stat is; earning the gold with Jameis Winston and Zach Wilson also on the podium is never a good thing.

So, what can Hurts do to correct this issue? Is there like Sudoku but for quarterbacks to keep one sharp on the field? Well, the answer is quite simple, really: Throw the ball earlier in the play.

I know, I know, captain obvious alert, but really, what else is there to say on the subject? While Hurts can’t magically change what plays are called, he can at least know innately where the ball should go and check it down Gardner Minshew style if his primary or secondary target is covered. This too falls on Nick Sirianni’s shoulders, as he can call quicker, more tempo-based passing plays to get Hurts into a rhythm and provide him with easy secondary completions if a big play down there is covered up.

Remember when Nick Foles filled the role of a quasi-point guard for Doug Pederson in 2017? Imagine Hurts playing that same role but with better wide receivers down the field and the athleticism to pick up chunk plays on the ground. Though it may not look like your traditional West Coast offense, the scheme could be incredibly potent indeed.

Jalen Hurts has largely been able to get away with a lack of exceptional vision with his legs. He had coaches who could scheme him open looks in college, and when those looks weren’t there, well, he could just run away and pick up big yards on the ground. While that could still happen from time to time this fall, if Hurts wants to take a step forward, he needs to sit down with his Philadelphia Eagles coaches and make sure they’re fielding a savvy, free-flowing offensive attack that looks more like an NBA fastbreak than the back-to-the-basket post-game that dominated in decades past. Hurts is an uber-modern performer at the quarterback position, if the Eagles are wise they’ll embrace that instead of fighting it.