Eagles Still Pay Attention To Quarterbacks In Draft, But For Other Reasons

Jalen Hurts is the foreman of the Eagles quarterback factory, his office decorated with a Super Bowl MVP and photos of a career that has seen him win 46 regular-season games in four-plus years as the starter, of his six playoff wins, including a Super Bowl ring, and his 140 touchdowns (85 passing, 55 rushing).

He is probably still mulling where to hang the soon-to-be-framed spread in Time Magazine that named his one of its 100 most influential people under the heading “icons.”

This is the time of year, with the NFL Draft just days away, where quarterbacks always are spotlighted. The closer a draft gets the love affair front offices have with quarterbacks heats up a thousand degrees.

Even media. Some mock drafts by NFL Media analysts have four quarterbacks going in the first round.

Desperate general managers are willing to overlook warts and flaws because they need a quarterback. Not the Eagles. They have their face of the franchise in Hurts, developed sixth-round pick Tanner McKee into a quality backup, and traded for Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

They don’t need to take a quarterback. The Steelers do. They don't have one, unless you count the one with the name that makes you think of a certain red-nosed reindeer - Mason Rudolph – but not football. Maybe Aaron Rodgers will rescue them from their short-sightedness of not preparing properly for the day Ben Roethlisberger retired. But is Rodgers a good lifeline?

Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders were considered the only two first-round draft picks entering the evaluation process months ago. Then Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart started collecting Cupid’s arrows from evaluators. Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough are on the climb now, too.

Meanwhile, Howie Roseman is rooting for the rise of the quarterbacks. The Eagles general manager doesn’t need one, but he likes to see them come off the board early. Six of the first 12 players taken last year were quarterbacks, and that helped Quinyon Mitchell fall to the Eagles at No. 22.

Roseman was able to make a deal with the Ravens the last time they picked No. 32, so Baltimore could take quarterback Lamar Jackson and get that fifth-year option that goes to first rounders. That could happen again this year if a team wants to jump back into the first round because they fell in love with a quarterback, a position that makes the most sense to want to get a fifth-year option on the contract.

This year, there are a few times other than the Steelers who could use a quarterback. Teams such as the Saints, maybe the Raiders and Browns, who may or may not be content with either Kenny Pickett or 40-something Joe Flacco as their starter.

Either way, the Eagles benefit from quarterbacks available in the draft, and this year is no different.

More NFL: Are Eagles Preparing A First-Round Curveball?