The quarterback position is undoubtedly the most vital position in football.
Who you choose to lead your team, make the right passes and reads, keep the ball safe and score the majority of your points is the most important decision general managers will have to make.
With that being said, Howie Roseman, GM of the Philadelphia Eagles, knows that just as well as anyone else in football. So his choice of rolling with Jalen Hurts is a decision he has put a lot of thought into, but is it the right decision moving forward?
This is a key question now, especially when examining the moves made by other teams to secure their quarterback spot. Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos, and division rivals the Washington Commanders traded for former Eagle Carson Wentz.
Not to mention there is some decent quarterback talent in free agency, such as Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater, Cam Newton, and sought-after veteran Mitchell Trubisky, and not to forget that Deshaun Watson is now the most sought after QB in the trade market.
Sounds like the Seahawks are really likely to make a push for DeShaun Watson… 😳
How do y’all feel about that? Good? Bad? Indifferent? It’s a weird situation.. pic.twitter.com/wOMe8Mp5HM
— Sami Jarjour (@SamiOnTap) March 12, 2022
So with tons of available quarterback options, Howie Roseman has to inspect all of his options to make sure he has his guy.
When looking at Jalen Hurts, he is an exceptional athlete and a dual-threat quarterback. His versatility was on display last season with his 3,144 passing yards, and his team-high 784 rushing yards to go along with a league leading 10 QB rushing touchdowns. His 16 touchdowns to 9 interceptions ratio was nothing spectacular and very much underwhelming, but his play was enough to lead the Eagles to a wild-card playoff spot (thanks in part to the addition of two more playoff spots from the recent collective bargaining agreement).
Although the then-defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers made short work out of the Eagles, who are clearly not championship contenders, Hurts did show some promise through the season and trying to lift his team to a divisional round berth.
But the question everyone has been asking is how much promise does Jalen Hurts really have? There have been questions regarding Hurts’ ultimate ceiling and potential as a franchise quarterback in the future, namely put forward by former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, who told NBC last week:
“I do not see the ceiling that high for him. I see a competent quarterback. I see a guy that’s going to play solid football for 10 years in this league. But do you want to be 10-7, 9-8, who do you want to be? What’s your record?”
Jaworski expresses his doubts about Hurts becoming a star in the league and can only see him being an average quarterback, and no team in the NFL likes to settle for just “average” when it comes to the most important position in football. Remember this is the guy they gave up on Carson Wentz for just a few seasons ago, so he has a lot to prove and has to reach his ceiling.
Howie Roseman stated at the beginning, during, and after the season that Hurts was their guy, and apparently in the offseason nothing changed. Roseman has reaffirmed his commitment to Hurts, and claims that they’re going to use their resources and draft capital to continue to build a core around the former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback as their guy moving forward.
Hurts showed some flashes of being a franchise guy during the season and will have to improve his game in tons of areas moving forward if he wants to ascend to new heights.
The first thing on his list should be passing accuracy. Hurts had a 61.3 completion percentage, marking him 26th out of 32 starting passers, and had a 87.2 QB rating on the season. These are below-average numbers.
It is clear to everyone that Hurts’ arm strength is the weakness in his game, which makes it easier for defenses to make adjustments against this Philly offense. Moving forward Hurts will have to drastically improve his passing if the Eagles want to move the ball. They have the weapons and the O-line to keep him upright. At this point it’s on him.
How drastically Hurts improves or not will decide how far Philly advances in a subpar NFC East division and show if Roseman’s decision to roll with him as their franchise guy pays off.
