Examining the Eagles' QB factory from a fresh perspective

1 week ago 2

Think back a little over five years and seven months ago to the 2020 NFL Draft. You couldn't have convinced Philadelphia Eagles fans that there existed an uglier phrase than 'quarterback factory'.

You all know the story. On April 29th, 2019, the Eagles exercised the fifth-year option on Carson Wentz's contract. On June 6th, they signed him to a four-year, $128 million contract extension with $107 million guaranteed.

That seemingly ensured Wentz would remain under contract through the 2024 NFL season, and Philadelphia was content to build around him. That's when they threw us a curveball. Needing talent on both sides of the ball, they drafted a quarterback.

Taking Jalen Hurts 53rd overall during Round 2 of that year's selection meeting turned out to be one of the most intelligent recent decisions the Eagles made. It wasn't viewed that way at the time. We weren't prepared for Howie Roseman and company to be right and for the rest of us to be wrong.

So, how do we view Howie Roseman's comments about the Eagles' quarterback factory now?

We heard whispers that, after Carson Wentz's near-MVP 2017 season and Nick Foles saving the day, Jeffrey Lurie suggested he'd like to see his Eagles draft an offensive signal-caller relatively often.

We didn't expect Philadelphia to draft a quarterback in 2020, let alone in Round 2, but we're all glad the Eagles did so. That decision has certainly worked out well for them.

We gave Howie Roseman a hard time by professing this team would like to be some 'quarterback factory. Years later, we owe him and the organization an apology as Hurts has firmly entrenched himself as the Eagles' franchise quarterback.

The factory lives on in some respects, and every factory sometimes produces substandard products. Philadelphia has been reinvented a couple of times, and now it's thriving, with a few exceptions, of course.

Playing in Philadelphia didn't help Carson Strong. It has, however, helped allow Gardner Minshew, Marcus Mariota, and Kenny Pickett to continue their NFL careers. It may also provide an opportunity for Tanner McKee to start.

We'll see, but as good as he is, you never know. He may provide the Eagles with the NFL's best backup QB, or he could, at some point, finally become a trade piece. Time will tell. We'll certainly keep watch on what transpires.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Examining the Eagles' QB factory from a fresh perspective

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