Wait? Did the Eagles just spend a second-round selection on an experiment?
Until we see some Eagles football that counts, there’s no real way to determine how this will work out, but here’s what we do know.
Remember when we heard Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie expressed his desire that the Eagles take a quarterback in every draft? It didn’t work last year with Clayton Thorson. He didn’t even make the initial 53-man roster, but think about two things.
First, Carson Wentz hasn’t finished any season in an upright position since 2016. Second, no one believes that Nate Sudfeld is a suitable backup. Stop saying you do if you’re one of those people. You know you have no faith in that man if Carson Wentz goes down.
Hurts gives the Eagles a backup that they can groom, and with the mad scientist that we all know as Philly’s head coach, Doug Pederson, don’t be surprised if the Eagles prepare a package of plays specifically designed with Hurts in mind.
Hey, Buddy Ryan tried the rotating quarterbacks, and it didn’t work. Andy Reid tried subbing Michael Vick for Donovan McNabb a few times. That didn’t work either, but maybe Pederson has the magic antidote. It seems to be working fine with the New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees, and Taysom Hill.
Doug Pederson and Sean Payton are friends, and we all know that the NFL is a copycat league. Here are a few notes from NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein’s draft profile. He compares him to, um, Tim Tebow. Gosh. This keeps getting worse.
"Like Tim Tebow, Hurts is a winning dual-threat quarterback known for his strength, toughness, and character. Hurts is a more accurate passer and a better runner than Tebow but is inconsistent as a decision-maker and tends to break the pocket when throws are there to be made. His deep-ball touch and intermediate accuracy improved this year so teams may see him as a developmental talent who will keep getting better in the right scheme. He’ll struggle to beat NFL defenses from the pocket, but his ability to grind out yards on the ground and make off-schedule plays should make him a solid backup with upward mobility."
Everybody calm down. Hurts will be better than Tim Tebow was. At least we all hope so. Pay close attention ladies and gentlemen. This decision is going to be talked about for a while.