PHILADELPHIA - Set to turn 27 in training camp, Eagles’ QB1 Jalen Hurts is entering the prime of his career on a Hall of Fame trajectory after a Super Bowl-winning season in 2024-25.
The fifth-year starter doesn’t always put up eye-popping numbers in what is a run-first offense, but nearly always finds a way to lead his team to victory.
After an early Week 5 bye, Philadelphia went on to win 16 of 17 games last season en route to a Super Bowl LIX blowout of Kansas City, and the Eagles were 14-0 over that stretch when Hurts started and finished the game.
Over 66 starts in the regular season, Hurts is 46-20 for a gaudy .696 winning percentage. He’s also 6-3 in the postseason as a starter, .667 against the best competition the league has to offer.
In four years as the Eagles’ starter, Hurts had led the team to four postseason berths, two NFC championships and a Lombardi Trophy, while being a two-time Pro Bowl selection, a 2022 second-team All-Pro and runner-up for league MVP, as well as the Super Bowl MVP against the Chiefs in February.
What's scary for the rest of the league is that there’s still plenty of room for improvement despite constant churn at offensive coordinator and play-caller dating back to his college days at Alabama and Oklahoma. More so, Hurts had his strongest spring to date.
"I've treated this offseason like I treat every offseason, coming in and try to learn as much as I can, trying to develop that chemistry with the play-caller [Kevin Patullo]," Hurts said.
Third-year pro Tanner McKee is penciled in to be elevated to the backup QB position after the Eagles dealt veteran backup Kenny Pickett to Cleveland in March.
McKee, 25, completed 30 of 45 pass attempts for 323 yards and four touchdowns last season in a limited sample size that convinced the organization the Stanford product was ready for the next step in his career.
The QB3 role is a battle between third-year pro Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was acquired from the Browns in the Pickett deal, and sixth-round pick Kyle McCord, a high-volume college thrower at Ohio State and Syracuse, who had a very strong spring.
Depth Chart:
QB1 Jalen Hurts; QB2 Tanner McKee; QB3 Kyle McCord; QB4 Dorian Thompson-Robinson
WHAT’S CHANGED: Pickett was sent to the Browns for DTR and a fifth-round pick to make way for McKee, a 6-foot-6, strong-armed pocket passer who has shown some serious upside in those limited opportunities last season.
Thompson-Robinson, 25, is a dual-threat option with five career starts who needs to develop more consistency throwing the football, while McCord was the 181st overall pick in April’s draft and showed atypical accuracy and processing skills during spring work.
COACHING: Kevin Patullo moves from passing coordinator to OC and play-caller while former Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler takes over the day-to-day work in the room from Doug Nussmeier, who is now the OC in New Orleans under Kellen Moore.
"When I look at it, looking at Coach (Loeffler) saying how can he take me to the next level. That's his whole thing when he came here, where his head was. Whatever you do, get more, and advance my
game," Hurts said. "He's been great. I've always had the sponge-like mentality, taking in as much as I can."
It should also be noted that Parks Frazier, who has a history with Sirianni in Indianapolis, arrives as the new passing game coordinator.
THE CEILING: Hurts’ comfort level with Patullo means he hits the ground running and continues to improve from a processing and anticipatory throwing standpoint while staying healthy for the entire season.
"I've been able to be around Jalen from his rookie year all the way until now, and it seems like he gets more and more comfortable back there," veteran tight end Dallas Goedert told Eagles on SI.
“... "He was seeing the game a little bit different and I feel like that's just he's just evolved and continuing to get better each and every year."
THE LONGSHOT: The Eagles simply aren’t going to risk McCord on waivers, so that means there is no place for Thompson-Robinson on the 53, barring injury.
The guess here is that Philadelphia wants to keep working with DTR, but a strong preseason could put Thompson-Robinson in play as a QB3 in other cities.
WHO STAYS/GOES: Hurts, McKee, and McCord are as locked in as possible entering training camp, and the organization would like to make it 4-for-4 with Thompson-Robinson on the practice squad if they can get the UCLA product through waivers.
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