INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles scrambles in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Inglewood, California.
Jalen Hurts was as good as it gets in 2022. Had he not missed 2 games, he likely would have been MVP. You could make the case he should have won despite missing those games, given the Eagles went 0-2, and they went 14-1 in games he played.
2023 was a step back. Some of it was an injury limiting his mobility, and some of it was the predictable offense Nick Sirianni ran. Still, he needs to take accountability for the regression as well. There were too many turnovers, and he fell back into a few bad habits like holding the ball too long and bailing from the pocket early.
That brings us to 2024. Will he be closer to 2022, or 2023? He has a new Offensive Coordinator in Kellen Moore, who has brought in an entirely new offense that should make things easier for him. The cast around him also got even better, adding Saquon Barkley to a group that already included AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and an elite O-line. There should be no more excuses. It is on Jalen Hurts to lead this offense to being among the bets in the league.
How Has Jalen Hurts Looked In Training Camp?
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Training camp is not the same as a game. You can look great in practice, but be a disaster on the field. We won’t have real answers until they play games that count.
But in terms of what we have seen from Jalen Hurts, it has been as good as you can hope for. I am not at Eagles training camp, but I do get to talk to many reporters who go to training camp. I have heard the same thing from all of them. Outside of drops, the ball has hardly touched the ground. Hurts has thrown accurate, efficient passes, all over the field, and he looks comfortable in this new offense already.
That is a change from the Spring Mini Camp and OTAs, where many people in attendance noted that the offense was very much a work in progress. But Hurts had time to study the playbook, and to work out the kinks, and it seems he came into cap prepared to run the team.
EJ Smith joined The Best Show Ever on Monday, and he had some glowing praise for what he has seen from hurts so far.
“The first 3 practices, that is as good as I have seen an Eagles QB look in my 6 years covering the team. To say the ball didn’t touch the ground except for drops, would not be an exaggeration. It was sharp, it was on time. It stands in sharp contrast to everything we saw in the Spring. I definitely think he has a command of the offense.”
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
How he would pick up the offense was a copncern. A lot was made of Hurts having yet another offensive coordinator. The 4th one he has had in his time with the Eagles, and the 8th he has had going back to his time in college.
But it seems he has picked it up fast. Kellen Moore is known for helping QBs put up big numbers. They have the pieces to be an elite offense. It really all comes down to what Hurts does in the driver’s seat. So far, it is all good things.
Again, it is just camp. Hurts can’t even be hit yet. But him looking comofrtable running the new offense is still a great sign. Now we just have to see if that carries into the season.
Dylan MacKinnon is The Digital Content Coordinator For 97.5 The Fanatic. he has been an Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Flyers fan his whole life. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Journalism. Dylan has worked at the Fanatic since 2016, starting as an Intern, moving to the Street team, and eventually was hired as an Associate Producer before settling into his current role in the Digital Department. You may hear him referred to on-air as "The D-Train."
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