It isn’t necessarily a surprise that the Eagles took a quarterback late in the draft.
What is surprising is that the quarterback they drafted doesn’t really fit the system.
After a season in which Philly’s offense was unlocked by Jalen Hurts’ dual-threat ability, they took a pure pocket passer in the sixth round in Tanner McKee. A two-year starter at Stanford, McKee is not a mobile player, something that wouldn’t really work in an offense built around Hurts’ strengths.
Of course, McKee getting into a regular season game would be a nuclear scenario. The Eagles already have Hurts and Marcus Mariota on the roster, so McKee will be competing with Ian Book to be the third quarterback.
So, it’s not as though the quarterback the Eagles drafted needed to be a perfect scheme fit. NFL analyst Ross Tucker explained on the 94 WIP Morning Show why the Eagles went that route.
“That surprised me, and the answer is they thought he was the best one left," Tucker said. "They are, organizationally, always going to bring in quarterbacks, they’re not just going to hand Ian Book the third quarterback job. They want those guys to compete.
"Remember too, Hurts has missed at least one game the last couple years. So whoever wins that third quarterback job between McKee and Book, they’re a play away from going into the game. Nobody cares about the third quarterback until he’s actually in the game. And by the way, that happens sometimes. Ask the 49ers."
Ultimately, being left to nitpick sixth-round picks who at best will be third-stringers this season is probably a good reminder that Howie Roseman had a pretty solid draft.
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