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PHILADELPHIA − You can tell when you've hit the slow part of the Eagles' offseason. This is when the local and national pundit rankings of players start coming out, and most of it, again, shows a level of undervaluing Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
There was a national analyst ranking Hurts as the 10th best quarterback in the NFL, even though Hurts has taken the Eagles to the Super Bowl twice in three seasons, and was the game's MVP this past season when the Eagles buried the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
Yet Chris Simms of NBC Sports had Hurts ranked behind Washington's Jayden Daniels, whom Hurts beat twice, including a lopsided 55-23 win in the NFC Championship game; and Houston's C.J. Stroud, whose team self-combusted last season and missed the playoffs, as Stroud regressed from his rookie season in 2023.
Two others ranked ahead of Hurts − the Chargers' Justin Herbert and the Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield − have better passing stats than Hurts. But they don't come close to matching Hurts' ability as a runner, which adds a different dimension to the Eagles' offense.
And then came a personality on SportsRadio 94WIP, who somehow couldn't find a spot for Hurts in his top-11 ranking of Philadelphia athletes.
Joe DeCamara had players like Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez and Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell ranked ahead of Hurts. Sure, they're nice players, but are they as indispensable as Hurts? DeCamara added he'd put Hurts "somewhere in the 15-20 range."
Sure, that's great for clickbait, but really?
Hurts, in many ways, is coming off his best season. He had a career-high passer rating of 103.7. He completed a career-high 68.7% of his passes. And while Hurts' 2,908 passing yards were the lowest of his four full seasons, he also threw fewer times than ever.
This is where Hurts' self-proclaimed "dynamic of adaptability" comes into play.
Last season, for example, Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau.
EAGLES OTAs: These Eagles stood out at OTAs − and these didn't, including a safety vying to start
OTA OVERREACTIONS: How Kyle McCord is changing QB pecking order; a DE breaking out
So why pass when Hurts didn't have to?
But when the opponent sold out to stop the run, like the Chiefs did in the Super Bowl, holding Barkley to 57 yards on 25 carries, Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards. Most of Hurts' passing yardage came as the Eagles took a 34-0 lead in the third quarter.
No doubt, the opponents' focus will be to stop Barkley first. Hurts, of course, knows this.
"They have to pick their poison," Hurts said. "It's just a matter of going out there and executing. Make sure we're in position to do what we're gonna do. When there's an opportunity to make it happen, make it happen."
In other words, when Barkley is taken away, it's on Hurts to either run himself, or throw to his cadre of receivers in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, among others.
Hurts has to do all of this under yet another new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In all, Hurts is on his fifth different offensive coordinator in six seasons now that Kevin Patullo has replaced Kellen Moore, who left after the Super Bowl to become the New Orleans Saints' head coach.
In addition, Hurts has another new quarterbacks coach in Scot Loeffler, who replaced Doug Nussmeier, who went with Moore to New Orleans. Loeffler is Hurts' fourth QB coach in four seasons.
Even before that, Hurts has had to deal with different play-callers each year during his college career at Alabama and Oklahoma.
"You have to be able to have and find success regardless of what the leadership looks like, what the voice is, who's in the quarterback room coaching me, or who's out there calling plays," Hurts said. "So that's really where I put my energy at trying to de-code these things and kind of figure it out on my terms a little bit, and find a way to make it go."The difference, to some extent, is that Patullo has been the Eagles' passing game coordinator since 2021, so Hurts has a familiarity with him. But that is not the case with Loeffler, who was the head coach at Bowling Green last season.
When Moore became the offensive coordinator in the spring of 2024, Hurts said during the spring practices that the offense is "95%" new.
At least Patullo was around for all of that change. And Hurts has learned to welcome different voices as the coaching staff has changed around him.
That's why Hurts said, "I don't count," when reminded that Patullo will be his sixth different play-caller during his NFL career.
"I think as you get older, you find comfort," Hurts said. "You're encouraged by what you are able to do. That opens the door − OK, maybe there's more that I can do. 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 (knowledge), and advance my game.
Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book
All of this comes during the backdrop of the Eagles' spring practices that culminated June 10 with a one-day minicamp.
This is where the groundwork for training camp was put into place. The Eagles will report to camp on July 21.
As Hurts said, both about Patullo and how the offense will look: "Too soon, too soon."
But it won't look the same as it did in 2024. That's one thing that Hurts has learned: Change is inevitable, both because opposing defenses will adapt and because the Eagles will have to adapt right back.
"I can't prdict how the offense will look," Brown said in May. "But I do know we have to evolve as a team, evolve as an offense."
This is why Patullo is encouraged by what he has seen from Hurts during the spring.
"He's willing to listen to anybody about anything," Patullo said. "If he feels like it's going to get him better, he's willing to take it and try it. Then the best part of it is the dialogue after ... He's a great player for a reason. His work ethic speaks for itself."
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What Eagles Jalen Hurts showed in OTAs to prove doubters wrong − again
Continue reading...
There was a national analyst ranking Hurts as the 10th best quarterback in the NFL, even though Hurts has taken the Eagles to the Super Bowl twice in three seasons, and was the game's MVP this past season when the Eagles buried the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
Yet Chris Simms of NBC Sports had Hurts ranked behind Washington's Jayden Daniels, whom Hurts beat twice, including a lopsided 55-23 win in the NFC Championship game; and Houston's C.J. Stroud, whose team self-combusted last season and missed the playoffs, as Stroud regressed from his rookie season in 2023.
Two others ranked ahead of Hurts − the Chargers' Justin Herbert and the Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield − have better passing stats than Hurts. But they don't come close to matching Hurts' ability as a runner, which adds a different dimension to the Eagles' offense.
And then came a personality on SportsRadio 94WIP, who somehow couldn't find a spot for Hurts in his top-11 ranking of Philadelphia athletes.
Joe DeCamara had players like Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez and Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell ranked ahead of Hurts. Sure, they're nice players, but are they as indispensable as Hurts? DeCamara added he'd put Hurts "somewhere in the 15-20 range."
Sure, that's great for clickbait, but really?
The Saquon Barkley effect
Hurts, in many ways, is coming off his best season. He had a career-high passer rating of 103.7. He completed a career-high 68.7% of his passes. And while Hurts' 2,908 passing yards were the lowest of his four full seasons, he also threw fewer times than ever.
This is where Hurts' self-proclaimed "dynamic of adaptability" comes into play.
Last season, for example, Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau.
EAGLES OTAs: These Eagles stood out at OTAs − and these didn't, including a safety vying to start
OTA OVERREACTIONS: How Kyle McCord is changing QB pecking order; a DE breaking out
So why pass when Hurts didn't have to?
But when the opponent sold out to stop the run, like the Chiefs did in the Super Bowl, holding Barkley to 57 yards on 25 carries, Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards. Most of Hurts' passing yardage came as the Eagles took a 34-0 lead in the third quarter.
No doubt, the opponents' focus will be to stop Barkley first. Hurts, of course, knows this.
"They have to pick their poison," Hurts said. "It's just a matter of going out there and executing. Make sure we're in position to do what we're gonna do. When there's an opportunity to make it happen, make it happen."
In other words, when Barkley is taken away, it's on Hurts to either run himself, or throw to his cadre of receivers in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, among others.
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More new offensive coaches for Jalen Hurts
Hurts has to do all of this under yet another new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In all, Hurts is on his fifth different offensive coordinator in six seasons now that Kevin Patullo has replaced Kellen Moore, who left after the Super Bowl to become the New Orleans Saints' head coach.
In addition, Hurts has another new quarterbacks coach in Scot Loeffler, who replaced Doug Nussmeier, who went with Moore to New Orleans. Loeffler is Hurts' fourth QB coach in four seasons.
Even before that, Hurts has had to deal with different play-callers each year during his college career at Alabama and Oklahoma.
"You have to be able to have and find success regardless of what the leadership looks like, what the voice is, who's in the quarterback room coaching me, or who's out there calling plays," Hurts said. "So that's really where I put my energy at trying to de-code these things and kind of figure it out on my terms a little bit, and find a way to make it go."The difference, to some extent, is that Patullo has been the Eagles' passing game coordinator since 2021, so Hurts has a familiarity with him. But that is not the case with Loeffler, who was the head coach at Bowling Green last season.
When Moore became the offensive coordinator in the spring of 2024, Hurts said during the spring practices that the offense is "95%" new.
At least Patullo was around for all of that change. And Hurts has learned to welcome different voices as the coaching staff has changed around him.
That's why Hurts said, "I don't count," when reminded that Patullo will be his sixth different play-caller during his NFL career.
"I think as you get older, you find comfort," Hurts said. "You're encouraged by what you are able to do. That opens the door − OK, maybe there's more that I can do. 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 (knowledge), and advance my game.
Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book
Where are Hurts, Eagles after OTAs, minicamp?
All of this comes during the backdrop of the Eagles' spring practices that culminated June 10 with a one-day minicamp.
This is where the groundwork for training camp was put into place. The Eagles will report to camp on July 21.
As Hurts said, both about Patullo and how the offense will look: "Too soon, too soon."
But it won't look the same as it did in 2024. That's one thing that Hurts has learned: Change is inevitable, both because opposing defenses will adapt and because the Eagles will have to adapt right back.
"I can't prdict how the offense will look," Brown said in May. "But I do know we have to evolve as a team, evolve as an offense."
This is why Patullo is encouraged by what he has seen from Hurts during the spring.
"He's willing to listen to anybody about anything," Patullo said. "If he feels like it's going to get him better, he's willing to take it and try it. Then the best part of it is the dialogue after ... He's a great player for a reason. His work ethic speaks for itself."
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What Eagles Jalen Hurts showed in OTAs to prove doubters wrong − again
Continue reading...
