The Eagles have attempted to stop the wildfire of rumors spreading by once again giving Jalen Hurts their stamp of approval. Bot Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni were available to the media yesterday during the combine and had nothing but great things to say about the Eagles 23-year-old QB.
Jalen Hurts chatter dominates the combine
Howie Roseman was asked if Hurts would be the Eagles QB1 for the 2022 season and his initial response was, “there’s no doubt about it.”
Roseman went on to state, “We have Jalen Hurts, who is a 23-year-old quarterback who led his team to the playoffs, and he’s going to get better and better and better. He’s going to do everything possible to get better, and we have to do our part in that.”
While Eagles fans have had a difficult time trusting Howie Roseman lately, it seems as if the GM has had a change of heart since the Wentz-Pederson drama unfolded. In a recent interview with Dave Spadaro, he referenced being more self-aware as of late which is huge for the new foundation that the Eagles have built with Nick Sirianni.
Jalen Hurts could be the biggest benefactor of this new version of Howie Roseman as the Eagles GM is focused on building around the young QB. With Roseman’s backing of the former second-round pick, Nick Sirianni chose to run with the baton next as he, unsurprisingly, also backed up the young QB.
Sirianni spoke heavily about the progress that Hurts has made since the beginning of the season. “As you watch more and more, and as you think about it more and more, you’re just pleased with the progression that Jalen has made, and I think that’s common of who Jalen Hurts is as a player and as a quarterback, that he just continues to get better. Whether that’s from Alabama to Oklahoma, or Oklahoma to his first year in the NFL or first year to second year, and we just know that progression is going to continue.“
What next for Jalen Hurts?
It’s incredible to see just how far Jalen Hurts has come considering the inconsistency that’s been around him. Hurts is yet to spend more than one season under the same system since his college days which could be the reason that we see a leap from him in the 2022 season. Sirianni spoke about the confidence that he has in Hurts to work on the things he needs to get better at this offseason.
“The four main things that you’re always looking at is, accuracy, you’re looking at decision making, the ability to create, and you’re seeing if he’s above the line in arm strength. Well, I think there’s no question that Jalen Hurts has the arm strength to make all the throws, he’s well above the line to be able to make the throws, whether it’s Atlanta in the first game of the year or whether it’s Philly, the last game of the year with some different type of weather. So, we’re confident in that. He has an amazing ability to create, whether things break down and the receiver might not get open or there’s a breakdown in the offensive line. And what we saw throughout the year is that, not only can he create with his legs, and make big plays with his legs, as the year went on you saw him become a weapon when he would move in the pocket, create in the pocket, and find his receiver down the field. You saw him create some explosive plays that ways.”
Jalen Hurts was heavily criticized for bailing in the pocket early and often throughout the season as the QB struggled to go through all of his reads.
Everyone knows that Jalen has the intangibles needed to be a star QB but he lacks a great deal of consistency which could stem from his lack of experience in Sirianni’s system. Sirianni mentioned that vision and great decisiveness come from experience. This is why year two as the Eagles starting QB will be a big evaluation period for Hurts. Sirianni mentioned the two areas where he wants to see Hurts progress. He stated, “You just want to see him continue to get better with his accuracy, and you want to see him get better with his decision-making.”
If Hurts can work on his mechanics this offseason including his pocket awareness, then there’s no question that he could leap to becoming the team’s franchise QB. Unfortunately for him, it’s another year under the microscope but another year in a system that’s built for him.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
