PHILADELPHIA − For nearly the entire offseason, the questions were always about whether Jalen Hurts can improve upon a 2022 season in which was the MVP runner-up and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, where he had a game for the ages in defeat.
Through the first week of training camp practices, Hurts seems to have taken his game to another level.
Sure, it’s training camp, and the Eagles haven’t played a real game, or anything close to resembling a real game. And Hurts hasn’t been hit, and he’s not playing through an injury.
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But there’s no better way to tell how comfortable Hurts is in the Eagles’ offense and the players around him than in the struggles of backup quarterback Marcus Mariota through the first week.
Even Mariota has noticed that.
“He’s first and foremost and incredible athlete,” Mariota said. “And secondly, from my experience being around other guys, he’s very accurate, especially moving around and creating plays. … I think now, with how athletic quarterbacks are getting, it’s really cool to see how dynamic players can create plays.
“He’s up there, man. He makes unbelievable plays, even in practice. For me, it’s a pleasure to watch.”
Hurts is in his third season as the undisputed starter, and third season in Nick Sirianni’s offense. He’s also in his third season with wide receiver DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert, and in his second season with A.J. Brown.
That familiarity has been evident, as has Mariota’s lack of familiarity.
“Sure, he’s made some big-time plays,” Sirianni said about Hurts. “I think he’s operating at a very high level within the offense, and understanding even more so about why we do things, how we do things. He’s really like a coach on the field with things like that.”
Mariota, meanwhile, has thrown four interceptions through the first five practices. He almost had another Thursday when defensive end Josh Sweat deflected his pass at the line of scrimmage.
Mariota’s most recent interceptions came Tuesday when he airmailed a pass over the middle that safety K’Von Wallace picked off, and on Sunday when he rolled to his right to escape pressure, and cornerback James Bradberry intercepted his pass in the flat.
There wasn’t a receiver in the area, meaning that Mariota either threw to the wrong spot or the receiver ran the wrong route.
“There have been some good plays. There have also been some bad ones,” Mariota said in assessing his play so far. “That’s alright. I’m growing every single day. … That’s what practice is for, to go out there and make mistakes so that when you get to the games, you feel confident in what you’re doing.”
In fairness, Mariota said he’s learning his eighth offensive system in nine seasons. He’s on his third team in three seasons. Before that, Mariota had a seemingly revolving door of head coaches and offensive coordinators during his first five seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft.
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The Eagles signed Mariota, who’ll turn 30 this season, to a one-year deal last spring as Hurts’ backup. Mariota spent last season as the Atlanta Falcons starter when he was benched in favor of rookie Desmond Ridder. He backed up Derek Carr with the Raiders the previous two seasons.
That’s why the Eagles are hardly worried. Sirianni said Mariota’s running ability is a good complement to Hurts, and Mariota is also picking up things in the passing game.
“We’re getting (Mariota) up to date in why we do things because everything may be a little different,” Sirianni said. “If you’re running a zone-read, maybe we tell him to read it a little differently than how he’s learned it in the past. Or a drop-back pass, he might read it a little differently.
“But I think you see his athletic ability on display.”
For this, Sirianni described a play earlier this week when Mariota was flushed from the pocket, and threw a deep crossing pass to Greg Ward.
“That just showed the kind of player we saw on tape, and why we wanted him here,” Sirianni said. “We’re pleased with where he is. He’s going to continue to get better as he gets more comfortable in this scheme.”
In many ways, Mariota is the backup who most mirrors Hurts since Hurts became a full-time starter in 2021. That first season, it was Joe Flacco, strictly a pocket passer with a wealth of experience. Flacco was traded midway through the season, and Gardner Minshew, more of a check-down quarterback, became Hurts’ backup through the end of last season.
Mariota, meanwhile, has started 74 games in his career. He threw for 2,219 yards and ran for 438 in 13 games last season. Hurts threw for 3,701 yards and ran for 760 yards in 15 games.
“Having Marcus there, with his experience and how he sees the game, I’m all for it because I’m a sponge,” Hurts said. “I want to soak in that knowledge. I want to hear as many new and great ideas that I can, so I can see what works for me.
“He’s been very supportive and very vocal in what he sees so far.”
That was evident during a Tuesday practice when Hurts rolled out twice to escape pressure − once to his right, once to his left (his weakness in the 2021 season he has worked diligently to make into a strength). Each time, Hurts fired a strike on the run to Smith at least 25 yards down the field.
In between those two throws was Hurts’ best pass of the day, a 60-yard bomb to Brown on a post pattern after Brown had gotten behind Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry.
Hurts has also taken off a few times on designed runs, as has Mariota.
Of course, the Eagles would love to never need their backup quarterback to start a game. But that’s not the reality in the NFL. Hurts missed two games last season with a shoulder injury, and the Eagles lost both games under Minshew. The season before, Minshew went 1-1 as Hurts’ replacement.
So Mariota knows he has to get better, and at the same time, he also has to help Hurts get better.
“For me, the more that I communicate with Jalen, the better,” Mariota said. “Even if he takes just one nugget from all the time that we’re together, that made him better. And that’s really what I’m looking forward to doing.”
Injury note
Linebacker Nakobe Dean was seen going into the medical tent Thursday early in practice. He spent the rest of practice watching from the sideline. The injury, or severity, isn’t known just yet. Dean was replaced by Christian Elliss. Cornerback James Bradberry left practice later on with an undisclosed injury. He, too, watched from the sidelines.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
