In Philadelphia we know how important a backup quarterback is, "QB2" won the Philadelphia Eagles their first Super Bowl. So who will be backing up starting quarterback Carson Wentz this season? Jalen Hurts, the Eagle's 2020 2nd round pick has been garnering a lot of attention from the media & apparently the Eagles coaching staff since the start of training camp.
Several media correspondents at Eagles training camp are raving about the young quarterback prospect drafted out of Oklahoma University. Apparently the Eagles have been "blown away" by Hurts according to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com. When the Eagles drafted Hurts with the second round pick many analysts expected that Hurts would be used as a gimmick player similar to that of Taysom Hill.
It's becoming clear that the Eagles thought more highly of him. They are impressed not only with his athleticism but also how he's picked up on the playbook so far. This is extremely important as the rookies this year will have an extra rough start due to the current pandemic stripping down training camp and canceling all the pre-season games. So can Jalen Hurts pick up the playbook quick enough to obtain the "QB2" spot before regular season starts?
Coming into the season we expected Nate Sudfeld to finally be the clearcut number two quarterback. Sudfeld has been with the Eagles for four years now mostly as a third string quarterback. In 2019 Sudfeld was setup to be the backup quarterback before breaking his wrist in a pre-season game. This caused the Eagles to implement veteran quarterback Josh McCown as the backup quarterback going forward.
So now with Jalen Hurts garnering so much attention, what lies in the future for Sudfeld as far as his backup role? After Nate Sudfeld was brought back on a one-year deal this off-season, head coach Doug Peterson was quoted saying "Were very confident with Nate" according to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports. If that was the case why did the Eagles use a second round pick on Jalen Hurts?
Many believe that the Birds drafted Hurts incase Wentz injury history ends up getting the best of him a couple years down the road. What we are learning is that Jalen Hurts will be the second string quarterback by the end of this season. He's accelerating past everyone's expectations and appears to be loved amongst the Eagle's organization. For now Nate Sudfeld is the safest bet for the "QB2" role as he has the experience in the Eagle's offense and with the playbook, but Jalen Hurts has the potential to be a very high quality insurance piece behind Carson Wentz.