NFL Draft Mailbag: Should the Eagles take a quarterback early or stick with Jalen Hurts?

This week we only have one very good question in the Draft Mailbag. If you have any questions about the NFL Draft related to the Eagles, shoot them [email protected]

If the Eagles trade Carson Wentz, how much more likely are they to set up a QB? Who would they pick at # 6 or even trade in for it? – Anthony

These are the questions that keep us all in our minds as we wait for the Carson Wentz trade to finally take place.

As for targeting a rookie quarterback, it all depends on what Jalen Hurts’ team thinks, which is well worth weighing in their decision to draft a new signal caller.

I think Jalen Hurts has a future as an NFL quarterback. While his rookie season had its ups and downs, there was plenty to be encouraged by. The big sale for me, and probably the Eagles, is Jalen Hurts’ intangible assets. He’s clearly loved by the team and it’s evident in the way the attack responded to him as he started. As a starter, Hurts never seemed put off by obstacles: be it his mistakes, the mistakes of his teammates or the pressure of the defense. That’s huge for a young player like Hurts.

Hurts’ arm strength is widely seen as a limit on his NFL ceiling. While those concerns are true, there are also plenty of ways Hurts can overcome an average arm in the NFL. Hurts is a smart passer-by with a limited number of mistakes that go all the way back to college. Getting very efficient, fast, and accurate with the ball is a clear path for Hurts to win as a quarterback in the NFL. Couple that with his existing athleticism and cool attitude and you have yourself a real player.

One last thing for Hurts is that he has improved throughout his career. From his freshman year in Alabama to his great last season in Oklahoma, Jalen Hurts made progress in every measurable way when it came to playing the quarterback position. There is no reason to believe the trajectory will end after his rookie year in the NFL. He is the youngest quarterback to have started games for the Eagles in a long time and it wouldn’t be completely ridiculous if the team wanted to see what he could do with a full off season as a starter. They could use the catch they get for Wentz to build a talented young attack and hope Hurts takes a big step forward in his second season. If he doesn’t, the Eagles could get a top quarterback next year.

Of course, the argument in front of drafting a quarterback high is the quality of this class. Even with Trevor Lawrence as a slot for the Jaguars, the Eagles could get a very good player in Justin Fields, Zach Wilson or Trey Lance. If the team is sold to one of those guys, Jalen Hurts’ potential doesn’t matter.

All of this is very hypothetical at the moment. We don’t know what the Wentz trade is like and the team will no doubt make some statements about Jalen Hurts after it happened.

Personally I think this quarterback class is too good to pass up. However, if the team decides to stay with Jalen Hurts for another season and use their ammo to rebuild the attack this spring, that would make perfect sense.