Potential Eagles QB prospects fail to strengthen their cases in Oxford

Prior to a 12 p.m. EST kickoff on college football’s first Saturday in November, you probably could have scripted the outcome of a game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Liberty Flames if you’ve paid any attention to these teams all season. Anyone who understands what the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback situation looks like has, no doubt, done just that.

Did you tune in? What did you think?

Here’s one theory. This one was a matchup between what might be two of the top five quarterbacks in 2022’s NFL Draft (Matt Corral and Malik Willis), that is assuming that many of you have them in your own top-five lists of quarterbacks that will be available along with Nevada’s Carson Strong, UNC’s Sam Howell, and Pittsburgh’s Kenney Pickett.

The game, as mentioned, unfolded as most expected. There were moments in which neither team seemed as though they wanted to take control on offense, but Ole Miss, the better team, earned a victory despite a few attempts by Malik Willis and company to close the gap in the second half.

The game was never in doubt though. The Rebels won by a comfortable margin (27-14), and again, nothing that we saw was anything that we wouldn’t have expected prior to kickoff.

Corral, despite playing injured, looked pretty good but didn’t prove he’s elite NFL quarterback stock. Minus the injuries, isn’t that the same boat that the Eagles are already in? If you’re looking for numbers, however, Corral’s looked good on Saturday.  He completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 324 yards and tossed a touchdown.

Malik Willis looked better running the ball than he did throwing it. Sound familiar? He picked up 71 yards and scored a touchdown on 27 carries. He also completed 16 of 25 pass attempts, but he tossed three interceptions, including one that ended a last-ditch effort to close the margin to less than a touchdown.

Sadly, with all of that being said, we’ve learned nothing about these guys that we didn’t know before this game started.

If Willis and Corral are the best the NCAA has to offer, the Eagles should stick with Hurts.

Once the season closes, both in the NFL and college football, you can expect there to be arguments for why the Eagles should use one of what should be three first-round draft picks on a quarterback. Once those theories begin picking up steam, Malik Willis and Matt Corral are the names you’ll most certainly hear most often.

Let’s rewind some and discuss how we got here. The Birds made a declaration, seemingly months before the 2021 NFL Draft was scheduled to begin. No, that’s not true actually. It goes back further than that.

Once the Eagles benched Carson Wentz last season in favor of Jalen Hurts, the decision was made. Philly had decided that Wentz’s era was over whether they admit to that or not.

Jalen Hurts went 1-3 in four starts to close the season, and the theory, once everyone knew that Carson was leaving, was that the 2021-2022 NFL regular season would be an 18-week, 17-game audition to see if Hurts could be the guy.

Philly tried to juke us by saying that they hadn’t committed to Hurts yet, but we knew what the deal was. They pretty much had to play him.

And still, even with that being said, there were rumors that Philly might take a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, and right up until DeVonta Smith was announced as the Eagles’ selection at number ten, there were still questions about whether or Philadelphia’s brass might eschew taking DeVonta Smith and, instead, draft Justin Fields.

We all know how that ended up. We’re also constantly reminded that quarterbacks need time to develop. Somehow, that’s forgotten every time Hurts struggles or throws an incomplete pass.

So yes ladies and gentlemen, regardless of how Jalen Hurts finishes the season, he will have detractors. Someone or several people will reignite ‘the Eagles should take a quarterback in Round 1’ narratives, and again, Corral and Wills will be the names you hear most.

Here’s some fair warning. The 2022 NFL Draft class won’t have the talent that the 2021 class had at the quarterback position. Corral and Harris probably are the valedictorians of this class, but with that being said, if it comes down to a decision about whether Philadelphia should gamble on one or continue to roll with Jalen Hurts, the decision should be an easy one.

Neither prospect is better than Jalen Hurts. They might be just as good, but neither is a better option right now. The Eagles’ best or worst-case scenario, depending on what your paradigm is, would be drafting one and seeing what another team would be willing to give Philly to earn their rights in a trade.