Jalen's Injuries Even if Nick Sirianni refuses to recognize it, Jalen Hurts is the Eagles' starting quarterback. Heck, he's been the starter since before most people in Philadelphia knew who Nick Foles was. But due to multiple injuries to top receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith and running back DeMarco Murray, as well as a defense that has given up 46 points over its last two games, the Eagles are calling on their former No. 2 overall pick to lead them into battle.
In four starts this season, Hurts has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,074 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He's also added 572 rushing yards and seven more scores through the air. The Eagles' offense has been pretty much unstoppable when Hurts has been under center this year, as they've averaged 42.5 points per game during his time at QB. However, they've only scored 17 or more points once when he wasn't playing (and that was against Washington with him not in attendance).
Given how well he's played thus far, it's no surprise that head coach Doug Pederson announced this week that Hurts will remain the team's starter going forward.
Jalen's Injuries Despite being one of two* quarterbacks on the roster, the Eagles, particularly head coach Nick Sirianni, have been reticent to anoint Jalen Hurts the starting quarterback for the 2021 season.
Not only did Hurts suffer a torn ACL last month at a junior day event, but also fellow rookie Carson Wentz remains on the mend from his own injury. Long story short, this situation is very much up in the air and it wouldn't be surprising if both players are still battling it out for the starting job in late 2020 or early 2021.
However, there's one thing that can be said with certainty: whoever ends up under center for the Eagles in 2021 will be playing behind one of the best offensive lines in football. And considering how well they played together in 2019, it's not hard to see why they would want to keep them intact. Starting left tackle Jason Peters is a future Hall of Famer and left guard Isaac Seumalo is expected to be a top five pick in next year's NFL draft. The only question mark is right tackle, where Brandon Brooks has been sidelined since September 2018 when he tore his Achilles during practice. However, the team has not ruled him out for the 2021 season and he has yet to sign with another team as a free agent.
Following the trade of Carson Wentz, the Eagles are quite likely to debut Jalen Hurts as their starting quarterback in 2021. However, it does not appear like the club is fully committed to Hurts as their franchise quarterback. Nonetheless, the move down from No. 6 indicated that the Eagles were not going to take a quarterback early.
In addition to being able to play both sides of the ball at a high level, quarterbacks can also be found at all positions on the field during game time. This allows coaches to adapt their game plans depending on what they see out on the field. For example, if a defense is loading up on the run then the offensive coordinator will know to feature more pass plays to keep the opposing team off balance.
Here at NFL Expert, we use statistical models to determine which players will be drafted by each team. According to our simulations, the Eagles are likely to select an offensive or defensive player with their first pick (23rd overall). However, due to their need for a quarterback, we suspect that they will target one late in the second round (61st overall).
Overall, this indicates that the Eagles do not plan to start any sort of competition at the position this season. They likely plan on bringing Hurts along slowly and hoping he becomes the long-term answer at quarterback.
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