Eagles would have been better off with Foles as backup (Opinion)

If I told you the Philadelphia Eagles would draft a backup quarterback in the second round of the NFL draft, where would you tell me to go? Bet it's pretty hot down there.

The Green Bay Packers stunned the football world when they drafted quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft while already having Aaron Rodgers under contract for three more years. The Philadelphia Eagles fans would experience the same shock when their team would draft Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with the 53rd pick, while already having Carson Wentz under contract for the next four years.

Why would they do this? While most agree that the quarterback is the most important player on the team. Many say the backup quarterback is the second-most important. Eagles Vice President and General Manager Howie Roseman said this in his post-draft press conference:

"We said we were always going to be about the quarterback position, that it was the most important position in sports. We were very fortunate to get a young, Pro-Bowl quarterback in Carson Wentz. Our goal is to surround him with as many good people and good players as we possibly can."

Wentz doesn't need "good people" as much as he needs weapons. The Eagles could have used that 53rd pick to add a possible starter either on offense or defense. They could also have used it to add to their first-round pick and possibly traded up to beat the Cowboys to CeeDee Lamb. That would not only have given Wentz a "good person" but a great weapon as well.

But Roseman is all about the quarterbacks, going on to say "There's no team that has got more value from the quarterback positions than the Philadelphia Eagles."

Really? I didn't realize they were a quarterback factory, and if so, then why not trust an alumni to step in should Wentz get hurt? Why not Nick Foles? He's an alumnus of "Quarterback U" who has actually taken his team to a Super Bowl win, and oh, by the way, he was traded by the Jaguars to the Bears for only a fourth-round pick.

If we're talking value here, why would you use a second-round pick, on a backup quarterback that you have to groom when you could have traded for Foles? Should Wentz get hurt again, who would you rather see step in a playoff situation: Foles, who took the Birds to a Super Bowl victory and won a playoff game the following year, or the rookie Hurts, who will never win the starting job? Too late for that. Howie did mention Foles when he explained this pick to the media.

"We looked at this from all angles," Roseman said, "and we didn't think this was much different than when we brought [former Eagles QB and current Bears QB] Nick Foles in, the amount of money we gave Nick Foles as a backup quarterback in 2017 and then bringing him back in 2018. And I bring up Nick because Jalen is that kind of teammate. He obviously had to take a backseat to Tua (Tagovailoa) in Alabama for a little bit and we're in a situation where we brought [QB] Nate Sudfeld back, and Nate has been very clear that he wants an opportunity to go lead a team. So we kind of looked at the future of our football team and said we keep getting in this situation and we keep kind of putting in resources, and to get a guy in here that can be in the system and learn and grow, that to us, it's worth its weight in gold."

So to break that down, they wanted to bring a guy who was a "Nick Foles"-like teammate, which Foles is. Does Howie believe Hurts will be happy as the backup? Would you want a quarterback who would be happy as a backup? He said Sudfeld made it clear that he wants to go lead a team. That's what all quarterbacks want to do. Since Foles has already won and gotten his money, he could easily be happy walking past his statue on Sunday and taking his place on the bench. Hurts, in this situation, will never get the opportunity to lead a team which I'm sure is what he really wants.

I'm sure Jalen Hurts didn't go into the draft to be a career backup and only time will tell how that will play, especially should he step in and lead the Eagles anywhere. If he does, or anytime Carson Wentz so much as throws an incompletion in an important situation, or at all. They'll be calling for Wentz's benching. In drafting Hurts, the Eagles not only surrounded Carson Wentz with a good player but a lot if agita as well.

Strap in, this is going to be fun to watch.

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