The 2021 NFL Draft hasn’t even started. Already, the Eagles have done to their lone QB on the roster, the same thing they did to their previous starter. They have already failed Jalen Hurts.
Last Monday, the Eagles had the sixth overall pick. They would, in theory, have their pick of either the most transcendent TE prospect coming out of the draft, or the top receiver of the last three years.
On Friday, dreams of taking the perfect receiver to grow with Hurts were shattered. The Eagles traded the sixth overall pick to the Miami Dolphins along with a fifth-rounder for the 12th overall pick, next year’s first-round pick for Miami, and the 123rd overall pick.
There are those (including PSN Founder, Liam Jenkins) that believe this trade has proved the Eagles are behind Jalen Hurts for 2021.
Allow me to offer a counterpoint:
This move does nothing but put Jalen Hurts in a no-win situation.
Logic
The Eagles had 11 picks in the 2021 draft BEFORE the trade. They have nine projected picks in 2022.
Many people have made the argument that the more picks the Eagles have, the better chance they have of hitting on those picks and making the rebuild move by quicker.
This is where logic needs to set in though. If a no-brainer All-Pro is available for your team who will instantly make your team better, wouldn’t that be EXACTLY what your team needs to rebuild? The Eagles do not have a ton of talent on this roster. No brainer selections need to be made to change that.
We can talk all we want about how more picks give the Eagles more chances to select top talent. How many times do transcendent WR’s and TE’s become available for your team with your draft selection?
The obvious decision was to stay at six, and draft Chase or Pitts if they were available. They have two first-round picks next year anyway, so it’s not like this was do-or-die. Trading back means you lose out on two sure-fire All-Pro talents that would have instantly made Hurts, and the team better.
Why should we trust Howie?
11 picks now in 2021. 9 in 2022.
Most fanbases would feel very confident in a team’s rebuild attempt with all those picks. The Philadelphia Eagles have not shown that fans should be happy about this.
In case you haven’t forgotten:
The sixth overall pick was “Howie-proof”. A pick that Howie and the scouting department didn’t have to overthink about. A pick that was going to give the team a bona-fide star in the making.
Now, with the 12th pick, the top-end talent will be gone. The leftover skill position players all have questions coming into the draft.
Instead of a top-end talent, Howie Roseman decided to move away from it. If he had a better prior draft record, maybe the fanbase would understand a little more.
But with only one Pro-Bowl player drafted since 2013, what makes us think Howie and the team will suddenly make this pick work out?
Jalen Hurts gets the short end of the stick
The Eagles have an aging and injured offensive line, a receiving group that has to prove a great deal, and a coaching staff that has proven nothing coming into this season.
What are the expectations for Jalen Hurts?
Is he supposed to rise above all the issues this team still has and lead them to the playoffs? Is he just supposed to put up good numbers? And how long of a leash will he get? With so many draft picks in 2021, there is every chance that the Eagles are in a good spot to draft the QB of the future if Hurts underwhelms. They already reportedly tried to trade up for Zach Wilson, which hardly gives a sense of commitment behind Jalen Hurts.
A bad cap situation meant that a ton of team needs still need to be addressed. Bad draft records mean that there isn’t a ton of talent around Jalen Hurts. And the team isn’t even fully into the idea of giving Hurts the job in 2021.
So instead of giving Hurts the tools to succeed and actually give him a legitimate shot, the team is doing the same exact thing they did with the previous QB, Carson Wentz. They expect Jalen Hurts to do more with less, and if not, they’ll just draft a QB to surround him with the already limited talent around Hurts.
It’s an endless cycle of questions that continue to show that they have already failed Jalen Hurts. If they weren’t sure about Jalen Hurts, then why did they trade Carson Wentz? Why wouldn’t you want to give Hurts enough weapons to see if he can really be the leader and franchise QB of this team?
There are definitely positives to gaining more draft picks by trading down. But by trading down, the talent level changes. And if you were unsure of the picture at QB, this trade makes the moves from the last couple of months make no sense. And if you’re really sure about your QB, then why
wouldn’t you want to get him the best talent possible?
