With a Carson Wentz trade still in limbo, it is unclear what the Eagles will do at quarterback next season. Jalen Hurts presents as the logic choice to fill the starter role after his brief stint at the end of the season, but the Eagles sit high enough in the draft where they could select a top-ranked quarterback at No. 6.
Draft experts include Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance in that top tier of quarterback prospects, and all four of them project better than Hurts according to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network.
"I have all four of them with a higher draft grade than I had on Jalen Hurts," said Jeremiah on Marks & Reese on Tuesday afternoon.
"I had Jalen Hurts in my top 50 and I was fine where [the Eagles] took him in the second round. I think these four guys are more talented passers than Jalen was coming out. It's not just is this a better option, it's is this the option, like is this the guy and do we have enough conviction that this is going to be that guy.
"That's going to be different for every team around the league. I've talked to some teams who feel like Trevor Lawrence is in his own space. Most of the team have Zach from Wilson BYU right behind him. Some people really like Justin Fields, some don't. Some people really like Trey Lance, some don't. There are some Mac Jones fans out there. Opinions are all over the place. My only thing is, you have Nick Sirianni and that position is his baby. If he falls in love with one of these five guys and thinks he is going to be a great player, just take him."
Related
Jeremiah also evaluated Hurts rookie season and how he fits into the Eagles team next season:
"You saw some good things and then you saw things that you expect from a guy that needs time to develop. If it was going into another season where the expectation is potentially a Super Bowl, I don't think you can throw Jalen out there and hope you are going to get to that point. I don't think he is ready for that. But, the organization is not at that place anymore. I don't think this is a Super Bowl team right now. It's a team in transition that will need to shave some players off their roster, get some young players into the lineup. Hurts kind of fits where they are right now."
"To me, the thing that makes the most sense: you are picking up there in the top 10. If you love one of the top four quarterbacks, I don’t think Jalen has shown you enough to pass on them. If Fields is there and you have good grades on him and love him, I would say you are free to take him. There is also a point, I don't think they have the preverbal gun to their head where they have to do that because I don’t think the expectation is championship or bust."
Related
