No position in football is more important than Quarterback. Everybody knows that. So why would teams at every opportunity not seek to upgrade their quarterback room? This is something I love about Howie Roseman and the Eagles Front Office. They constantly are drafting and developing quarterbacks and are constantly looking to upgrade their backup quarterback spot.
As Josh Hermsemeyer wrote in his FiveThirtyEight article, “How The Eagles Built A Winner By Overdrafting Quarterbacks”, the Eagles recent success has largely been due to the value they put on the quarterback position.
It was in drafting Jalen Hurts when Carson Wentz was still a competent starter that the Eagles were able to make the Super Bowl run in 2022. And it was in seeking to find the best possible backup in the 2017 offseason, that the Eagles were to land future Super Bowl hero Nick Foles.
This free agency, the Eagles did it again by going out and signing the best available backup quarterback—Marcus Mariota—to a one year deal. In my opinion, it was their best move of free agency thus far. And while I love what Mariota brings to the table as a starter just one season ago and a mobile quarterback, he’s not a long term backup. His deal with the Eagles was only a one-year contract for $5 million.
I would be in favor of the Eagles using a second or third round pick this year to draft another quarterback. This move would help provide a backup behind Jalen Hurts that can come in and win playoff games when QB1 is injured.
There’s not a ton of feasible quarterback additions I like, but one to look out for is Dorian Thompson-Robinson from UCLA. He adds mobility on the ground that could allow the Eagles to run the same offense when he’s on the field and he’s a great character guy.
As a multi-year starter, Robinson continually improved throughout the course of his college career even amidst adversity. UCLA football fans seem to have high praise for him. As a high-character guy with mobility at the quarterback position, Robinson could come in and not sacrifice the mobile QB effect of Philadelphia’s offense, while still being displaying comparable leadership to Hurts. He would be a great day-two pick for the Eagles.