What people keep getting wrong about Jalen Hurts, a roster longshot I’m finding a way to keep on my 53-man roster no matter what and the latest on the Eagles’ cornerback dilemma.
Welcome to the penultimate Roob’s Random Eagles Observations of the 2025 offseason. (I’m pretty sure penultimate means next-to-last.)
1. A lot has been about how Jalen Hurts threw “only” 18 touchdown passes last year, 20th-most in the league. All the dopes who rank him in the bottom of the top 10 quarterbacks or even outside the top 10 point to that stat to justify their ranking. The reality is that most of the people ranking Hurts that low are doing it because they didn’t like him coming out of Alabama and gleefully predicted he’d never be an elite quarterback, and they don’t want to admit they were wrong. Anyway, about those 18 touchdown passes, let’s try putting them in context. Hurts was also 22nd in the NFL last year in pass attempts. When you have a running back averaging nearly six yards per carry and 125 yards per game and you keep winning, you don’t throw the ball 50 times a game. So if you want to measure Hurts’ touchdown passes, you have to do it on a percentage basis, and out of the 28 quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes last year, Hurts’ touchdown percentage – one every 20.1 attempts – ranked 10th. Ahead of Aaron Rodgers, who threw 28 touchdowns (in 122 more attempts. Ahead of Justin Herbert, who threw 23 touchdowns (in 143 more attempts). Yes, even ahead of Patrick Mahomes, who threw 26 TDs (in 220 more attempts). Of course, if you want to include rushing touchdowns – which count the same as passing TDs last time we checked – Hurts had 32 TDs, which was 8th-most in the league. Anybody who brings up that 18 touchdowns thing is intellectually dishonest without providing context. Bunch of haters.
2. Other than two days when he was limited – Aug. 10 and Aug. 12 – A.J. Brown hasn’t practiced since Aug. 1, and it’s now Aug. 24, and I’m still not ready to say I’m concerned, but that’s 3 ½ weeks now he’s been dealing with that hamstring injury and opening day is 11 days away. We saw A.J. out on the practice field every day during training camp running around and having fun. He loves throwing passes to the wide receivers and backs in individual drills and watching him you wouldn’t think he was injured. But he practiced in full exactly seven times since camp began on July 23, and if this thing goes into Dallas week then it’s definitely time to be concerned. With the Thursday kickoff, the Eagles will start Cowboys prep a week from today. If A.J. isn’t out there next Sunday, it’s definitely fair to start worrying.
3. If I was selecting the Eagles’ 53-man roster, I’d find a spot for Patrick Johnson. If that means just keeping two tight ends or four safeties or going light somewhere else, I would just get him on the roster. Somehow, some way. Johnson has had such a good training camp and has obviously been very active in the preseason games – an interception vs. the Bengals and a sack Friday vs. the Jets. He’s a veteran that everybody on the team looks up to, a one-time 7th-round pick who’s battled the odds for five years now. He was the 234th pick out of 259 players taken in the 2021 draft And you have to love what a positive attitude he’s had about being forced to spend last year with the Giants and missing the Super Bowl run after starting the season with the Eagles. But the main reason I’d keep Johnson is that he’s a fast, athletic, tough special teamer, and if he had to play edge snaps I think he’d give you an honest effort. There are certain guys you can’t help but pull for, and Johnson is one of them.
4. It’s hard to tell exactly what Vic Fangio is thinking, but it sure looks like Adoree’ Jackson will begin the season as CB2 opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Jackson was nominally better than Kelee Ringo this summer and basically won the job because he messed up less often than Ringo. Once Ringo suffered that quad injury and missed practice on Wednesday, that pretty much sealed it, although nothing is etched in stone just yet. But this is important: Just because Jackson starts the season in the starting lineup doesn’t mean he’ll finish it there. You saw Friday night just how active Jakorian Bennett is. His coverage was tight, and when he did give up a pass he got the receiver on the ground or out of bounds with no further damage. I get the sense Vic Fangio doesn’t think Bennett is quite ready to start. He’s only had eight practices and two games since the Eagles acquired him from the Raiders. And Mac McWilliams, the rookie 5th-round pick from Central Florida, has shown some promise as an outside corner, but he’s also probably not ready yet either. So Week 1? Probably Jackson. Week 2 and 3? Probably Jackson. And maybe the 30-year-old veteran will play well. But if he struggles and Bennett – or possibly McWilliams – gets to the point where they’re a viable option to start at outside corner, Fangio won’t hesitate to make a move.
5. Don Burroughs had the 3rd-most interceptions in the NFL during his five years with the Eagles from 1960 through 1964. He was a 2nd-team all-pro. He’s the only Eagle with three seasons with seven interceptions and they were consecutive, something only three other NFL players have done in the last 50 years. He was a starter on the 1960 NFL Championship team and despite only playing here for five years ranks sixth in franchise history with 29 interceptions (trailing only Brian Dawkins, Eric Allen, Bill Bradley, Herm Edwards and Wes Hopkins). Someone please explain to me why this man is not in the Eagles Hall of Fame? #TeamBurroughs.
6A. There’s been a gradual change in Jalen Hurts and it has nothing to do with the way he plays football. Those of you who watch Eagles player interview live streams have probably noticed that Hurts has been far more insightful and open this summer than ever before. In past years, Hurts interviews were often a tangled web of cliches, catch phrases and vague generalities that left you with more questions than you had before you spoke with him. Occasionally, we’d see a glimpse of his intelligence and thought process and get moments of clarity. But rarely. And then just as you were about to feel enlightened, he’d go back to Jalen-speak. He was always pleasant and cooperative but never truly enlightening. I’m not sure what’s changed. Maybe he’s just more comfortable as he goes into his sixth season. Maybe it’s being another year removed from Nick Saban. Maybe it’s a reflection of his comfort level with his current coaches. He spoke recently about how winning a Super Bowl and being named MVP made him more confident, and maybe this is another manifestation of that. Whatever the reason, it’s been a delight talking with him this summer. You leave each interview feeling like you’ve truly learned something about Jalen. And he’s such a fascinating and brilliant guy that’s really welcome for any Eagles fan. Getting a real glimpse into what makes the best quarterback in Eagles history tick has been an unexpected bonus in this Eagles preseason.
6B. The best Eagles quarterback interview – by far – was Michael Vick. He’s the last Eagles quarterback who did interviews at his locker and was available to chat with every day. He never turned down a 1-on-1 request and every time you spoke with him, he was open, honest and insightful. First time I met Michael he gave me his cell and told me to call anytime I needed anything. That just doesn’t happen.
6C. That said, here are my top 10 Eagles starting quarterback interviews: 1. Michael Vick, 2. Rodney Peete, 3. Jeff Garcia, 4. Nick Foles, 5. Jalen Hurts, 6. Mark Sanchez, 7. Doug Pederson, 8. Randall Cunningham, 9. Sam Bradford, 10. Kevin Kolb.
7. Fourteen of the last 18 times the Eagles won on opening day – including the last eight – they’ve gone on to reach the playoffs: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The only years since 1994 they won their opener and didn’t reach the playoffs are 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016. In 2011 they were 8-8 and 2014 10-6. So the only times in the last 30 years they’ve won their opener and had a losing record are 2012 and 2016.
8. Only three linebackers in NFL history have had 35 career sacks and 25 career interceptions. And two of them played together with the Eagles for three years. Seth Joyner had 52 sacks and 27 interceptions in his 13-year career, and William Thomas had 39 sacks and 28 interceptions in 12 seasons. The Eagles drafted Joyner in the eighth round in 1986 and Willie T. in the fourth round in 1991. They were teammates here from 1991 through 1993. The only other linebacker with 35 and 25 is Hall of Famer Ray Lewis (43 ½ sacks, 33 interceptions).
9. Jahan Dotson didn’t drop a single pass during training camp and with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both missing significant practice time, he got a ton of targets. This time last year he had been here for one day and although he grew a little more comfortable late in the season, he never really fit in. Now, Dotson has had a full offseason in this offense, spent time with Jalen Hurts in Houston during the offseason and has been the one veteran receiver who’s been healthy throughout the preseason. The last day that Brown and Smith both practiced was July 26, so Dotson has gotten a month’s worth of 1st-team reps with Hurts, and it shows. They are super locked in. Now, what that translates to during the regular season is hard to say. Assuming Brown and Smith are healthy, they’re going to get most of the targets, with Dallas Goedert next. But I really think Dotson is going to get opportunities this year and I expect him to make the most of them. This is a guy whose quarterbacks were Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz as a rookie and Sam Howell in 2023 and then came in late last year. He’s finally in a situation where he’s comfortable in the offense, has a great connection with the quarterback and is surrounded by talented teammates. There’s a reason Dotson was the 16th pick in the 2023 draft, and there’s a reason Hurts targeted him down at the goal-line for 27 yards early in the Super Bowl. We probably don’t talk about him enough because of Smith and Brown, but Dotson can play.
10. Adoree’ Jackson, who turns 30 on Sept. 18, is the Eagles’ oldest possible starter on defense, and unless the Eagles sign a veteran already in his 30s, this will be the first time the Eagles haven’t had a defensive starter in his 30s in a season opener since 1974. Their oldest opening-day defensive starter in 1974 was cornerback John Outlaw, who was 29 (and a month older than Bill Bergey).
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