Eagles coach Nick Sirianni ‘very pleased’ with Jalen Hurts’ development
Jalen Hurts is throwing a crisper, more accurate ball this offseason, according to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.
Despite some growing pains in his second NFL season, Jalen Hurts helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach the playoffs in his first year as a full-time starter in 2021. The team is hoping he will take a big step forward entering his third pro season, and so far, coach Nick Sirianni has been impressed with his progress. “I’m noticing a big difference,” he told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “What I see is a crisper ball. The accuracy I’ve been very pleased with. You can just see him taking strides every single day with his accuracy because of the fundamentals he has with his feet and his upper body.”
Hurts’ focus since Philadelphia’s 2021 season ended with a 31-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round has been on his footwork and his throwing mechanics with an emphasis on his timing. A major advantage for the 23-year-old quarterback this offseason is that he is working with the same offensive system from 2021 – the first time since high school he has used the same playbook in successive seasons.
“That’s been very pivotal going into the offseason ... just being decisive out there on the field, knowing pretty much where I’m going to go with the ball based off the look that they give me,” Hurts said. “There’s a natural maturation there, as I’ve always talked about.” Hurts led all quarterbacks in rushing yards with 784 and rushing touchdowns with 10 in 2021, but was not one of the more dangerous passing QBs. He ranked 15th in yards per attempt (7.28), 22nd in passer rating (87.2), 26th in completion percentage (61.3) and was tied with three other QBs for 23rd in TD passes (16). In the golden age of passing, he had just two 300-yard passing games while Philadelphia averaged 200.2 passing yards per game – the eighth lowest in the NFL and fewest by a playoff team.
“We want that to come up,” Sirianni said in reference to the passing ranking.
Brown on board
The offseason addition of A.J. Brown should help with the Eagles’ passing attack. Brown led the Tennessee Titans last season with 63 catches for 869 yards and five receiving touchdowns and will team with DeVonta Smith, who led Philadelphia with 64 receptions for 916 yards and five TD receptions as a rookie in 2021.
“It’s my job to just go out there and play point guard,” Hurts said. “Distribute the ball, get the playmakers the ball, and my plays will come.”