'Hurts' to Look at Eagles Other Draft Options

The Jalen Hurts controversy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and just about every angle for the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has been debated ad nauseam both locally and nationally.

What hasn’t been addressed as much is the debates in the Eagles’ virtual MS Teams draft room leading to the decision, which ultimately focused on three players, something first reported by SI.com’s Albert Breer and confirmed by a league source.

The others in the conversation were Southern Illinois safety Jeremy Chinn, who ended up going at No. 64 overall to the Carolina Panthers, and Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins, who went two slots after Hurts was taken at No. 55 to the Baltimore Ravens.

Both would have been better “need” picks for the Eagles, who plan on using Jalen Mills as the box safety and moving chess piece that Malcolm Jenkins provided Jim Schwartz so competently for so many years and still need the complement to Miles Sanders in the backfield, a player to be determined with undrafted Cincinnati rookie Michael Warren presumably in the mix if Philadelphia doesn’t add a veteran option.

The Eagles, however, loved Hurts as a player, have valid concerns over Carson Wentz’s durability moving forward, and do legitimately value the backup QB position more than most for obvious reasons.

It wasn’t exactly Sophie’s Choice but Roseman eventually pointed back to 2012 when the organization badly wanted Russell Wilson and decided to wait in the hope that the undersized prospect would be available in the third round.

The rest is history. Seattle got a superstar one spot ahead of Philadelphia and the Eagles traded back and ultimately selected Nick Foles, who helped deliver the ultimate prize after more than a few twists and turns and ironically became the player most responsible for the organization’s enhanced emphasis on the backup QB role.

“We think where the league is going when he gets experience and coaching, (Hurts is) going to be a valuable player, and for us, that’s our job is to acquire as many assets as we can and utilize them and also utilize them to get more value,” said Roseman. “So that’s really what the draft is about. It’s about value. It’s about acquiring players that we think have high value, and really, when you look at the quarterback position, there’s nothing that has more value.”

An added footnote from that 2012 draft is that Houston was the team that traded up with the disappointed Eagles after they failed to land Wilson and the Texans chose Brandon Brooks, now the All-Pro right guard in Philadelphia.

Those who believe Philadelphia could have waited this time around and gotten Hurts in the third or fourth rounds are incorrect, according to one league source, who described Hurts’ floor in the draft as the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 80 overall.

“I don’t think (Hurts) would have made it to that spot, either,” the source said. “But that’s the floor. The Raiders would have taken him.”

The Eagles’ next selection after 53 was 103 where they selected Colorado linebacker Davion Taylor.

If it’s all about 2020 it’s tough to explain the Eagles thinking because Chinn or Dobbins would certainly have has a bigger immediate impact but it isn’t about one season.

Maybe the days of five years plans in the NFL are over but Roseman has embraced a three-year model. One such model - from 2017 to 2019 just closed - and the GM is cutting the ribbon on the new one.

“I think, at the end of the day, I understand my job is different than our players’ jobs,” said Roseman. “My job is to make sure that we’re strong at every position.“

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, Every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio, and every weekday on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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