It appears talking about the Eagles drafting a quarterback with the No. 6 overall pick might be a waste of time.
Speaking on ESPN, NFL Insider Chris Mortensen could not have been more clear about the Eagles’ plan at quarterback for the 2021 season.
“Yes, Jalen Hurts is the guy. Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Eagles, has basically sent the message to his personnel department and his general manager Howie Roseman that he wants to do everything he can to help Jalen Hurts be successful and not bring in somebody to compete for the job," Mortensen said. "Now they have a new head coach in Nick Sirianni, he understands what the owner wants, the owner gets."
Mortensen then double-downed on Hurts being the Eagles’ quarterback later on:
“Jalen Hurts is the quarterback for this year,” Mortensen said. “They don’t want to bring in competition for him.”
The Eagles have not been as publicly committed to Hurts, although they have also not talked about their quarterback position since trading away Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts last month. Once they are allowed to, at the start of the new league year, it will be interesting to see if they say that Hurts is the guy or try to avoid naming him the starter.
It would not be surprising if they avoided naming Hurts the starter, even if Mortensen is correct. The Eagles benefit from teams behind them thinking they will take a quarterback at six, as it could cause teams like Denver or Carolina to jump infront of them, which would push other players — like LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase — down the board to them at No. 6.
In an ideal world, the Eagles would have a choice between Chase, Florida tight end Kyle Pitts and Alabama receiver Devonta Smith. Having the rest of the league think they might draft a quarterback helps that to happen -- and increases the chances that Lurie's plan to build around Hurts is a successful one.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!