Eagles Jalen Hurts Reunited With Coach in ‘Win-Now’ Draft
After successfully helping to develop both Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, Shane Steichen will get his first shot as a head coach this season when he leads the Indianapolis Colts.
Four years after Andrew Luck's shocking preseason retirement, the Colts hope that Steichen can help to develop No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson and once again bring stability to the quarterback position in Indianapolis. But what if Steichen and the Colts had their choice of almost any quarterback in the NFL?
NFL.com recently put together a "win-now" mock draft, aimed at building the best roster to win a championship in 2023. The first-round order was determined by worst record in 2022, and then reversed in the second round. As a result, the Colts had the No. 4 overall pick. And with quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen off the board, Steichen and the Colts went with a familiar face in Hurts.
"New Indianapolis head coach (and former Philadelphia offensive coordinator) Shane Steichen is happy to reunite with his former Eagles protégé," NFL.com writes.
A year ago, it would have been hard to fathom taking Hurts over four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in an exercise like this, but the former had a better season than the latter in 2022, not to mention his experience working with Steichen. Perhaps the more interesting dilemma for Steichen would be whether to take Hurts or Herbert, both of whom he's previously coached. In this draft, Herbert ended up going to the Las Vegas Raiders with the seventh pick.
As the team that lost the Super Bowl a year ago, the Eagles didn't pick until No. 31, and ultimately ended up with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who is currently rehabbing a torn right ACL. If the goal is to win now, we would question the logic in taking a quarterback who seems unlikely to be ready for Week 1.
In the snake draft, the Eagles did have the second pick in the second round, which they used to take former All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. But Hurts ended up in Indianapolis, receiver A.J. Brown with the New York Giants, right tackle Lane Johnson with the Minnesota Vikings and pass rusher Haason Reddick with the Atlanta Falcons. It's safe to say the Eagles are much happier with their real life roster, as opposed to the results this simulation turned out.
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