Eagles Made The Right Decision In Drafting Jalen Hurts

I know the selection of Jalen Hurts in the second round shocked a tremendous number of Eagles fans and that’s understandable, but when you step back and look at the Philadelphia Eagles recent history, you can see that this was a wise selection.

Eagles starting quarterback Carson Wentz is everything Doug Pederson and his staff could have wanted in a young franchise quarterback.  He’s hungry to excel.  He’s a leader with courage and a strong arm, who is willing to give his opinion and to push his teammates to the highest level.  He’s willing to do everything necessary in order to be a champion not just to be a good quarterback.

Carson wants to be a champion year after year and even though he did not lead the team through the playoffs to the Super Bowl victory a few years ago, he played a key role in getting that Lombardi Trophy.  He was playing at a MVP level when he was injured in the game versus the Rams.

Entering this draft we all knew that drafting weapons at the wide receiver position was the number objective of Howie Roseman and the Birds Player Personnel staff.  Wentz needs weapons and that’s why they made the #21 first round selection of TCU’s Jalen Raeger.  LSU’s Justin Jefferson was supposed to be the pick, which everybody assumed, but the Eagles rated Raeger higher, so they drafted him.  In the next few years, we’re going to find out which receiver is better, but Raeger definitely can do more things than Jefferson because he’s got the ability return kicks.   He’s got that quick burst of speed and they say he plays faster than his 4.4 forty-yard dash time.  Still Raeger is going to have to prove that he is the better player on the field and we will all be watching.

When you step back from the selection of Jalen Hurts with the 53rd pick in the draft, you can clearly see why they made the pick.  Honestly, if you have been an Eagles fan, since Wentz was selected you know why the Hurts pick was a good one.   Let’s cut to the chase.  The one thing about Carson Wentz that isn’t on the level the Eagles would have wanted from the second pick in the draft is the fact that he gets hurt.  So, as great as Carson has played, clearly one of the requirements for a Carson Wentz team is a good back up quarterback.  If Nick Foles hadn’t been able to step in and play on a MVP level, the city of Philadelphia would still be without a Super Bowl title.

Wentz has been hurt in most of the seasons he has played for the Eagles.  The Birds starting quarterback has proven through his time in the NFL, that he is prone to getting injured.  You cannot deny that fact.  So the team’s backup quarterback is much more important behind Wentz, than the guy behind a quarterback who has a history of never getting injured.   YOU CAN VERY EASILY MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON THE EAGLES TEAM BEHIND WENTZ IS THE BACK UP QUARTERBACK!!!

Foles proved that you need to have an outstanding back up quarterback behind Wentz, who can step into a playoff game and lead the team to victory.  The backup quarterback behind Wentz, must have an inner toughness and confidence that can deal with championship type pressure.  This Hurts kid is ready for Philadelphia.  He played at Alabama with Tua Tagovailoa and was able to keep his composure after being benched in a National Title game.  He wasn’t blowing up during situation, which would have been understandable, but he was still a team guy.  Eventually, he transferred out of there, but he was always team oriented. Hurts went to Oklahoma another school with a tremendous history and a lot of pressure to be the starting quarterback and he led them to the Championship Series.

Hurts is a great athlete with a strong arm, along with both outstanding size and speed.  Most of the scouts who evaluated him, believe Hurts has first round talent.  He’s also a tremendous leader, who is a proven winner.  You could easily see why Hurts would be the highest player on the Eagles board at the number 53 pick.

Right now emotionally, Hurts is the type of young man, who could go into a key game with all the pressure of the world on his back and be able to function.  In fact he could not only function, he could excel.  Hurts still have tremendous room to grow as a quarterback with his accuracy and reading defenses, but he has the mental toughness to be in the number two position behind Carson Wentz and ready play.  I can also see the youngster works at his craft and has the intelligence, to quickly learn an offensive system.

I repeat again, Hurts is a winner who has been able to deal with and excel under the pressure of both of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners.  He led both of these teams with rabid following to the College Football Championship Series.

This kid is mentally and emotionally tough and you know that he can deal with the quarterback changes.  He can deal with the media and not be falling apart.  Amidst all the pressure, he’ll be ready to play when his number is called.  As I said before, whether you like it or not, the number two guy behind Carson has to be a good player and he’s got to be ready to play.

I think selection of Jalen Hurts was a great pick because more than any other player in this year’s draft he would be able to handle playing in Philadelphia as the number two quarterback behind Carson Wentz.  This is a very unique job and Hurts more than any other player is prepared to excel at it.