Eagles Backup QBs: Coach Reveals 'No. 1 Trait' Needed Behind Jalen Hurts
PHILADELPHIA - The new spring line dropped at the "Quarterback Factory" was a throwback, an old-school 6-6, 230-pound traditional pocket passer from Stanford named Tanner McKee.
The Philadelphia Eagles' signaling at the game's most important position has been a bit murky since Jalen Hurts seized face-of-the-franchise status with a wonderful 2022-23 season that turned him into the highest-paid player in the history of the industry for four days.
Forget dual threat. Hurts prides himself on being a triple danger, one who can beat you with his arm, his legs, and his mind.
As far as depth is concerned, the Eagles had to move on from Gardner Minshew after the two-year backup, who is very competitive, left for the Indianapolis Colts and a better opportunity to get some run under former Philadelphia offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, now the head coach in Indy.
Although Indianapolis drafted Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall back in April, Minshew could start the season as a bridge and, as the old saying goes, no one is taking you off the field if you play well.
It’s a small crack in the door for Minshew but slightly ajar is better than slammed shut, which is the landscape for the Eagles after a runner-up MVP effort from Hurts.
The only path to the field in Philadelphia is injury but a top-notch insurance plan is always important for the organization.
In the market for a new backup, the Eagles certainly didn’t want to just hand the job to little-used third-year player Ian Book so the decision was to sign veteran Marcus Mariota, who has started 74 games in his NFL career.
Over the past two seasons, Minshew started three games in place of an injured Hurts, playing well in two of them and laying an egg in No. 3 so history says that the Eagles will need Mariota for a short stint in 2023.
The connection to Mariota’s efficacy in run-pass option and zone-read looks was noted by most observers with the belief that it’s better to have a backup that can somewhat duplicate Hurts’ style on the field rather than scrapping much of the offense and shifting things, especially for a short time.
That’s why many connected the dots toward the Eagles taking a QB like UCLA’s Dorian-Thompson Robinson on Day 3 as a flyer for the cost-effective, long-term backup for Hurts.
DTR was gone by the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns however, and Philadelphia went McKee, more Nick Foles-like than a watered-down Xerox copy of Hurts.
It shouldn’t have been surprising.
“I don’t think it’s a requirement to have a similar style of play,” quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney told SI.com’s Eagles Today when discussing bringing in a different style quarterback to his room. “It certainly doesn’t hurt. There’s some value to it, but our offense is so multiple, we have so many good players on our team, that you can win in a lot of different ways.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni evaluates quarterbacks on four different aspects with the two most important categories being accuracy and decision-making. From there, off-schedule ability and arm strength are factored with the latter defined as the ability to consistently make NFL throws.
And that’s where McKee fits the bill for the Eagles.
Mariota was brought in more for his experience than his style and while McKee is never going to spook opposing defenses with his movement skills, he’s only traditional from a triangle-measurement perspective. Like everyone else coming from the college game, he’s been well-schooled in the modern brand of offensive football.
“As far as who I am as a quarterback and what I'm going to bring, I feel like I'm going to try to do -- I'm going to bring whatever the coaches and whatever the Eagles need from me,” McKee said. “In college, I ran a spread. We're going to run a lot of RPOs and things like that. … I feel like I have a lot of different assets, and I'm excited to display those.”
How you get to the finish line at quarterback is malleable for the Eagles but getting there is non-negotiable.
“The number one trait for a backup quarterback is a guy that’s not necessarily going to get many reps throughout the week but able to step in on Sunday and operate,” Tanney, a long-time NFL backup himself said. “To have guys trust him.”
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
