Philadelphia Eagles

Why Dawkins says Hurts will succeed in 2021

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The Eagles' QB situation is an uncertain heading into Week 1 as it's been since 2016, and even that year a rookie Carson Wentz had lower expectations than those foisted upon Jalen Hurts this season.

We have no idea what we're going to get out of Hurts, other than a dynamic athlete and hard-nosed competitor who could stand to tighten up his game through the air. Will he be a useful NFL QB through 17 real games? We sort of just have to wait and see.

But at least one Eagles legend is already all-in on the new QB1.

Brian Dawkins, Weapon X and NFL Hall of Famer, joined NFL Network's NFL Now on Wednesday to discuss his upcoming book, "Blessed by the Best", and also to chat about the Eagles' quarterback situation with the season opener in Atlanta just four days away.

Dawkins was asked, straight up, whether he believes Hurts is "The Guy" for the Eagles - as in, franchise quarterback and not just a placeholder - and Dawk wasn't afraid to talk up the 23-year-old QB:

"I do. I do. I know we haven't seen a large percentage of him on the field, operating, but just listening to what this dude talks about and his work ethic, and what is coming out of the locker room and guys talking about him and his leadership already? 

"And then his willingness, I believe, to look at the thing he's not doing to better himself - because again, he had been supplanted in different places, like at Alabama, and so he's had to look at some of the things he was lacking in, be OK with getting better at it in order to earn the respect somewhere else. That tells you this dude has been through a whole lot in his short career already, and now he's stepping into one of the tougher places to play in Philadelphia. I can tell that the Eagles fans are leaving towards loving this dude."

Well, I'm in.

I like that Dawkins decided, instead of focusing on Hurts' dual-threat ability or his knack for the deep ball, to focus on Hurts' ability to lead and make himself better. Physical talent and ability is only part of the equation in the NFL; the ones who end up excelling are usually the ones who have the drive and determination to get better in the face of adversity. Dawkins himself knows plenty about that.

Hearing this kind of endorsement from someone who used to dominate games in this very city has to fire Eagles fans up.

It also jibes with the way Jalen Mills spoke about Hurts' preparedness and work ethic back in February:

"After practice we have about, Doug would give us about two hours for recovery, to eat lunch, right before our meetings. An hour after practice, when I've showered, I've gotten a cold tub, I'm about to go eat lunch, an hour has passed by and I would - through out cafeteria there's a big glass [window] that looks out onto the practice field, and you would see him out there throwing the ball, still. Throwing the ball with one of the assistant quarterbacks coaches, working on his mechanics, working on his throws, working on rolling out, and I'm like, 'Yo, J, you've got 45 minutes to hurry up, eat, and shower to get to the meetings.' But that just shows you he was preparing himself."

Whether Hurts can make all the throws and keep the turnovers down over a full regular season remains to be seen, but he sure seems to have plenty of people who know football on his side.

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