You in on Jalen Hurts or nah?

It doesn’t matter what we think, and now it might not even be worth talking about using the #6 pick on a quarterback, because according to Chris Mortensen, the Eagles are going with Hurts this year.

That’s what the ESPN Insider said on a recent network appearance:

For some further clarification, Mort replied to a Les Bowen tweet, saying this:

Hmmm… okay. If they don’t want to create a “true competition,” then that would rule out drafting a quarterback at #6 overall. They would instead go with a Ja’Marr Chase, or DeVonta Smith, or a shitty Howie Roseman reach instead of putting Hurts up against somebody like Justin Fields or Mac Jones. Even in the clarification, what Mort is saying would essentially ice the idea of taking a QB in April. Perhaps they just do a year of Ryan Fitzpatrick or another veteran to mentor Hurts and determine whether or not he’s the guy.

It makes you wonder why they didn’t do it last year, right? You had a franchise QB and had a chance to add another weapon, or place a defensive piece on the other side of the ball. Instead they created a competition out of nothing and went on to win four games in what amounted to the most miserable year of Eagles football since 2012.

The real topic here, at risk of burying the lede, is Jeffrey Lurie and his level of involvement, and here’s the thing –

If you need to hand out instructions, then does that mean you do not trust your GM? And if you don’t trust your GM, then why is he your GM? Nobody really knows the significance of Lurie’s involvement in player-personnel, or overall franchise direction, but he could essentially be saying, “let’s avoid last year’s screw up, and this is how.” Perhaps then it’s kind of a reprimand paired with a directive and less about inserting his personal preference. Maybe it’s something like, “don’t repeat last year’s mistake.”

Anything more is concerning. You’d be undermining people by keeping them from doing what they were hired to do. And if they aren’t good enough, then they shouldn’t be in those important positions in the first place.