Larry Henry JrThe Philadelphia Eagles will have several needs in the 2022 NFL Draft, but quarterback is one that won’t need to be upgraded heading into the new season.
Jalen Hurts is heading into his third season with the Eagles and is coming off his first year where he was the starter for majority of the offensive snaps. Hurts helped the Eagles reach the playoffs in 2021, but could not help them avoid an early-round playoff exit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the team seeking overall improvement and a chance at the Super Bowl this fall, both Eagles vice president/general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni are confident in Hurts taking another step forward in 2022.
“Yeah, there’s no doubt about it,” Roseman said about Hurts being the Eagles’ No. 1 guy. “I think when you talk about all the things we talked about at the end of the season, nothing has changed. I think what really has changed for us is the opportunity to add. This is a great time of year for the Philadelphia Eagles, for us, for our staff and being here and really getting everyone involved in the draft process. The start of free agency is up and coming.
“We have to continue to add good players,” Roseman added. “We have to continue to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to maximize our players’ ability to be successful and, certainly, that starts at the quarterback position with Jalen.”
Many Eagles fans were hesitant to call Hurts their starting quarterback last season, especially with the former Alabama and Oklahoma starter having some ball control issues to close the 2020 campaign. Hurts answered by totaling 3,928 total yards and 26 touchdowns compared to only nine interceptions, playing a leading factor in several Eagles victories in the regular season.
Hurts also faced stiff competition from back-up quarterback Gardner Minshew, who impressed in his one true start of the season in a 33-18 win at MetLife Stadium last December. Although there will be several quarterbacks on the market this offseason and the possible figures of DeShaun Watson and Russell Wilson both being available in a trade, the Eagles seem determined to let Hurts take the next step in his overall development.
“We’re still going through that process of evaluating our season,” Sirianni said. “It starts early on, and you go through the things of the write-ups of the players, what the needs are of the team, this and that. Then you start watching each individual cut-up of all your different concepts and different things that you did. And as you watch more and more and as you think about it more and more, you’re just pleased with the progression that [QB] Jalen [Hurts] has made.
“I think that’s common of who Jalen Hurts is as a player and as a quarterback, that he just continues to get better,” Sirianni added. “Whether that’s from Alabama to Oklahoma or Oklahoma to his first year in the NFL or first year to second year. We just know that progression is going to continue.”
Hurts isn’t a flashy name in the NFL and that’s okay, especially if he continues to secure the football and make smart decisions with the offense. The third-year QB also doesn’t have the greatest arsenal of weapons, with DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Miles Sanders all needing teammates to help out with production when called upon.
There will be no shortage of competition in the Eagles schedule in 2022 with Green Bay, Tennessee, Arizona, and Pittsburgh all expected to put up a stern test in addition to the usual divisional contests against Washington, Dallas, and the New York Giants. The Eagles will hope to give Hurts the best assortment of talent in the offense to help him succeed, but after seeing him take a positive step in his growth in 2021, confidence remains high in the 23-year-old Texas native.
“It’s not just because we’ve seen the progression go like that, it’s because of the person that he is,” Sirianni said. “He loves football. This guy loves football and he’s just willing to do the things that he needs to do to get better and that’s why he does continue to get better. And guys like – he’s tough, he’s competitive, he has high football IQ, he has high general character in himself. And that’s what we’re looking for in the draft prospects that we are going through right now. Do these guys have these things this in their body or in their DNA? Because in our experience, those are the guys that reach their ceiling.
“So, Jalen Hurts has all those things and he’s only going to continue to get better,” Sirianni added. “When we looked at all our tape and we evaluated our tape – again, we’re still going through it – you can see the progression of him getting better throughout the year in different things. He led us to the playoffs, and obviously, we want to go further than that and we’re really confident that Jalen is a guy that can help us do that.”
The Eagles will take part in the 2022 NFL Draft between April 28-30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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