PHILADELPHIA – There isn’t much to see physically regarding Jalen Hurts’ improvement this offseason.
After all, the Eagles are holding just six spring practices, with no 11-on-11 periods, making it seem more like a passing camp. They held their third session of the week on Friday, with three more to come next week.
But Eagles offensive coordinator said Hurts’ improvement is evident just in his demeanor, his command of the offense, and in the players around him.
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Steichen also said it’s evident in the work Hurts has put in during the offseason.
“He just has a relentless effort to be great,” Steichen said. “So, every approach he takes, he doesn’t have an offseason. He’s always on it. He’s always thinking about football. We’re always talking football day in and day out and he’s continuing to grow as a player, as a leader, every single day.”
Hurts said there’s another factor in his growth. This is the first time he’ll have the same play callers for the second straight season going back to Hurts’ days in high school.
For the Eagles, it’s the combination of head coach Nick Sirianni and Steichen, although Steichen admitted that he became the primary play caller last season and will continue in that role this season while collaborating with Sirianni.
So Hurts’ on-field improvement will be noticeable in time. But Hurts said he did everything that he could during the offseason to make sure it will be noticeable.
“I think, simply, this offseason, I did something I’ve never done before,” Hurts said. “I went to (California) and I worked out out there. I got some good work out there. I talked about how I was still in the front part of my career, so I’m still trying to figure out what my offseason looks like.
“Where do I want to train? What does that look like? Where am I going to be? I think that’s something over time that I’ll find out on my own.”
But for one day, Hurts did connect deep twice with DeVonta Smith, who got behind Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay.
That’s encouraging on two levels: The first is that it shows Hurts and Smith are much more comfortable with each other. The second is that it shows how much better Smith can potentially be in Year 2, and especially after the Eagles traded for star receiver A.J. Brown on April 28.
Brown said he expects to go against the opponent’s top cornerbacks, leaving Smith on the No. 2 cornerback. And in those situations, Brown said, “I expect Smitty to dominate.”
To get Brown, the Eagles sent the Tennessee Titans their first-round pick, at No. 18 overall, and a third-round pick. Brown had at least 1,000 yards receiving in his first two seasons before dropping to 869 yards last season while missing four games due to injury.
Brown also happens to be one of Hurts’ best friends. They worked out together this spring before the trade was made.
Smith, the Eagles’ first-round pick in 2021, set a team rookie receiving record with 916 yards. The Eagles haven’t had a wide receiver surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark since Jeremy Maclin in 2014.
Of course, the Eagles also have tight end Dallas Goedert, who had 830 yards receiving last season, with most of those coming after the Eagles traded Zach Ertz midway through the season.
“I think with anything, you go into game plans and you have three really good players that you have to get the ball to,” Steichen said. “Every game is going to be different. I always say this, there’s one football, and you have three really good players along with other additions that we have.
“So we’re working through that every single day, and that’ll take place through training camp and going into the season.”
Hurts will need to show that improvement. That will include improving his completion percentage, which was at 61.3% last season. It will also include better decision-making, and checking down more often.
That’s because the Eagles want to go back to a passing-centric offense after switching to a run-based offense midway through the season. Hurts, of course, led all NFL quarterbacks and the Eagles with 784 yards rushing.
But good teams, such as the Buccaneers in the playoffs last season, were able to slow down the running game, thus forcing Hurts to pass.
Hurts knew he had to improve. It might not show now in June, but Hurts is confident that it will.
“As we go throughout the plays and run the plays against our defense, just be decisive out there on the field, knowing pretty much where I’m going to go with the ball, based on the looks that they give me,” he said.
“There’s a natural maturation there, as I’ve always talked about.
Eagles, Hurts speak out against gun violence
The Eagles wore black and orange and gray and orange practice jerseys Friday on National Gun Violence Awareness Day to support victims and survivors of gun violence.
Hurts opened his press conference with a statement, drawing on the recent mass shootings at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma; an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
“Fear doesn’t belong in those places,” Hurts said. “I can’t even imagine my little cousins not coming home from school, my little sister not coming home from school, my dad not coming home from work.
“(We’re) trying to bring awareness to it. It’s a real thing. I know a lot of people out there in this community, in this world, can relate to it. I just feel like, I wanted to own my impact with that.”
Hurts and the Eagles recently held a community event at an elementary school in West Philadelphia, and Hurts said he thought about that visit in light of the recent mass shootings.
“Within the communities, everybody has to play a part in it,” Hurts said. “Obviously having assault rifles in our communities is unacceptable.”
The Eagles also announced that the Philadelphia Police Department will hold a gun buyback event at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday from 2-6 p.m, offering a $100 gift card for any unloaded gun, no questions asked.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
