Philadelphia Eagles: Cam Jurgens gave a glimpse of a Jason Kelce-less future

Cameron Jurgens did not have what you would call a good week.

He was without Jason Kelce to teach him the ropes at center, as the veteran snapper has been away having surgery, probably didn’t like the heat, and… oh yeah, was the butt of a million jokes due to being on the wrong side of a viral video featuring a particularly hoppy bunny rush from Jordan Davis. Now granted, Heavy D is one of the most freakishly athletic defensive tackles in NFL history, and will certainly make more than a few players look ridiculous moving forward, but in this case, his fellow 2022 draftee was the one who looked silly, and one has to assume everyone in Jurgens’ life, from his college roommates to his grandma, passed the video along in one form or another.

Unfortunate? For Jurgens, you bet, but hey, in 2022, things go viral at a pretty rapid clip and fade into obscurity just as fast; all it takes is someone else doing something bad or Jurgens doing something good, and it’d all be right in no time.

Well, in a very welcomed twist of fate, Cam Jurgens chose the latter, and his play in his preseason debut should leave Philadelphia Eagles fans feeling very confident about the future.

Cameron Jurgens played like a starter in the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason debut.

Cameron Jurgens looked like a starter in the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason bout against the New York Jets.

Now granted, that wasn’t too hard to do, as Jurgen did technically earn the start between Sua Otepa and Isaac Seumalo in the game due to Jason Kelce’s absence, but there’s a big difference between earning the start and looking like a potential every-down starter, as any fullback not named Kyle Juszczyk will tell you.

Jurgens, to his credit, firmly fell into the “looks like a starter” category, as he delivered the ball in the right spot at the right time, transitioned well into his stance, and looked good against both the run and the pass. While he wasn’t exactly going against Vita Vea in a playoff game up front – or, ya know, Jordan Davis in practice – Jurgens was able to keep his foe in front of him in pass pro, and even whipped off a few incredibly athletics maneuvers as a pulling lead blocker that would make both Kelce and Juszczyk proud.

Sidebar: I know there’s been a lot of talk about Jordan Davis as a goal line fullback, but has Nick Sirianni ever thought to try Jurgens as a fullback when Kelce returns? If so, he should.

Playing just one series with Jalen Hurts under center, Jurgens looked like a natural with the first team, and even when Gardner Minshew entered the contest, and more of the reserves cycled into the lineup, the pride of Nebraska’s game only looked more impressive versus their peers.

If Jurgens was looking to make a statement, he did one heck of a job at establishing a new first impression.

Eventually, Jason Kelce will return, and Cam Jurgens will take a place on the bench until Nick Sirianni wises up and steals my fullback idea. Folks will marvel at Kelce’s masterful game, he’ll remain one of the best centers in the NFL, and will hopefully lead the best rushing team in the NFL to the playoffs once more. But eventually, the day will come when Kelce opts to do something else – from managing a beach bar to sports talk radio – and fans will have to turn their attention to who’s next in the Philadelphia Eagles’ talent pipeline. Fortunately, Jurgens really does look like the second coming of Travis’ brother and should be able to seamlessly pick up his mantle like Scott Lang in Ant-Man.