Getty Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Joe Flacco get instruction from the coaching staff during their first practice at 2021 training camp.
Jalen Hurts has been QB1 for the duration of Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp. He has taken every first-team rep on offense while winning over the locker room with his confident leadership.
And Hurts has been the only quarterback to routinely address the media, another job reserved for the starter. His positive-slanted, life-guiding analogies don’t hurt either. Yet the Eagles have refused to officially name him the starter. Fans accepted the 23-year-old as the new guy under center ever since Carson Wentz was traded. Now the national media is coming around after seeing Hurts excel at camp.
There is a fast-growing sentiment among #Eagles’ players that Jalen Hurts is undoubtedly the franchise QB. His work ethic, intangibles and overall skill level have captured the entire locker room. Players I’ve spoken with are consistently blown away by Hurts – on/off the field.
Just leaving Eagles-Patriots and being around them last couple days and the confidence in @JalenHurts from teammates became much, much clearer. He’s winning those guys over
From @JasonLaCanfora w/us on @foxsportsradio ‘I saw the Eagles practice…when Jalen Hurts rolled out to the right it was productive and it caught my attention. It was hard not to be impressed. Hurts in the 2-minute drill was really good. I’m a Hurts believer.’
Impressed by Jalen Hurts today. Commanded the offense well. Accurate. Threw a couple of lasers on the move, one to Dallas Goedert, another to Jalen Reagor. #Eagles
NBC Sports’ Peter King hasn’t yet visited Eagles’ camp, but he already went on record saying that the organization wants Hurts to succeed. This narrative about them wanting to tank for Deshaun Watson has been over-embellished.
King told NBC Sports Philadelphia the following back in April:
I think that for those who think that Jalen Hurts can’t win this job, I think the Eagles desperately want him to win this job. Because then they will be able to spend draft choices to build a great team in 2022. Instead of having to package a bunch of picks to be able to move up to get the next quarterback. They don’t want to do that. They want Jalen Hurts to play great.
Quez Watkins torches JC Jackson. Ball from Jalen Hurts.
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Cam Newton Showers ‘Lil Bro’ with Love
Hurts met Cam Newton for the first time face-to-face on Monday during joint practices. The Eagles quarterback gushed about what a “legendary player” Newton has been over his 10-year NFL career and going back to his college days. The Patriots quarterback was quick to return the compliment on Hurts, a player he helped navigate the recruiting process.
“Hurts is my little bro, man,” Newton told reporters, via CBS Sports. “There are a lot of guys I admire from afar. Just to see the state of the NFL have so much athleticism at the quarterback position. It’s something to smile about.”
Jalen Hurts was really happy to meet Cam Newton for the first time today
“Hurts is a lil bro, man”
“There’s a lot of guys that I admire from afar”
-Cam Newton says he followed @JalenHurts all through college
Eagles Scouted Rookie QB Mac Jones
Patriots rookie Mac Jones is listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind Newton. New England selected him with the 15th overall pick in the hope Jones will one day become the franchise quarterback. He was the fifth signal-caller to come off the board in 2021, a highly-developed passer and 2020 Heisman Trophy nominee.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni revealed that Philly did their due diligence on Jones. They scouted him and watched tape on him (remember, he was teammates with DeVonta Smith at Alabama) prior to the draft. He walked away really impressed by Jones’ accuracy.
“When we watched Mac and all the quarterbacks, I just thought he was really accurate, a really accurate quarterback that knew where he was going with the football,” Sirianni told reporters. “Obviously, we got to see Mac even more because we watched DeVonta a lot, and when you’re watching DeVonta’s highlights it’s easy to be like, ‘Whoa, that guy can make some great throws.’ He’s a great player, great college football player and looking forward to watching his career as it goes.”