The Eagles needed to make sure they have "Nick Foles."
The Eagles have made the playoffs three straight years. But they haven't had their biggest investment and most important player on the field for their biggest postseason games.
Carson Wentz is a great human being and can play at an MVP level. The Eagles have made it clear they are not concerned about his long-term health. We all hope he can be on the field and lead the Eagles to the next Super Bowl. But the Eagles needed to know they have the most important position in sports covered. Without their "Nick Foles," the Eagles are still searching for their FIRST Super Bowl. Would they have beaten the Seahawks at the Linc in January with a better backup? The defense only gave up 17 points. The offense only scored three field goals. 0-3 in the redzone.
40-year-old Josh McCown played his heart out through a torn hamstring, but if the Eagles had their "Nick Foles," they could have possibly won, Carson could have returned for the NFC divisional game, maybe they would have won and and been back the NFC championship game.
"It's just the insurance policy. No one in the league, no team knows the value of an insurance policy at quarterback more than we do after what we went through in the 2017 season and what we experienced. It's adding a good football player, and we're excited for Jalen Hurts to be here," Eagles VP of player personnel Andy Weidl said.
Maybe the Eagles don't draft Jalen Hurts in the second round if Carson Wentz was healthy for these last three playoffs. But the Eagles have always tried to upgrade at backup QB. They upgraded from Chase Daniels to Nick Foles before the Super Bowl season. Boy did that pay off.
Philadelphia Eagles
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and their NFL rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
You can tell the Eagles are enamored and wowed by Jalen Hurts' skillset. The Eagles see where the NFL is going with a dual threat quarterback who can run and throw on the run. See Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson.
I think this was the perfect storm with a dual threat type of quarterback the Eagles see as the future of the league and know they can have him as a backup under a rookie contract for the next 4 years, hopefully develop him into a starting caliber quarterback, and right away utilize him with Taysom Hill type packages and add a new dimension to their offense.
Last June, the Eagles new passing game coordinator Press Taylor said this:
"I do think at some point one of the big things is having multiple people on the field who can throw the ball. I think that's something [you'll see] going forward. You've seen kind of the Philly Special, all the different versions of double passes, things like that. I think at some point something like that I could see coming into play."
If Jalen Hurts, who plays the most important position in sports, is one of or your highest rated player on your board at 53, what do you do?
I get that a lot of Eagles fans wanted a player at 53 that can contribute right away. I did too. But if the Eagles had signed Jalen Hurts as a free agent and not drafted him in the second round, would you feel differently?
If the Eagles had drafted linebacker Davion Taylor or safety K'Von Wallace in the second round and then drafted Jalen in the third or fourth round, would you feel differently?
Is it the right move? The future will tell if the Eagles correctly valued or overvalued Jalen Hurts in the second round. Is what Nick Foles did for the Eagles worth a second round pick?
There is a shock to this. It is stunning. After investing over $100 million in Carson Wentz less than a year ago.
"When I was hired back in 2016, we were always going to make a point of emphasis to look at the quarterback position and try the best we can to draft quarterbacks and develop quarterbacks. It protects that position. And I've always said to you guys that we're trying to develop depth and competition. I've always told you guys that the quarterback position is never immune to that," head coach Doug Pederson said.
"I think when you talk about what the ideal situation is, that's obviously winning Super Bowls with our starting quarterback (Carson), getting this kid (Jalen) up to speed, showing what kind of talent that we think he has, and that's a great situation for the Philadelphia Eagles, and that's certainly worth more than the pick that we took him at right now," Eagles VP Howie Roseman said.
Carson Wentz was probably surprised by this. He watched Nick Foles win a Super Bowl and grew from that and has handled everything in the most professional way. I'm sure this will add even more motivation. The hope is for Carson Wentz to be the starter till the end of his contract and beyond and lead the Eagles to the playoffs and hopefully another Super Bowl. But the Eagles are making sure, just in case, they have their "Nick Foles."
Subscribe and rate the Eagle Eye podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Stitcher / Spotify / Art19
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
