Eagles GM: Jalen Hurts Pick Was the Right Move Despite Carson Wentz Drama

Count Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman among the people who subscribe to the adage that "the best ability is availability."

Roseman appeared Wednesday on Sports Radio 94WIP, saying he feels strongly that picking Jalen Hurts last season was the right call because of Carson Wentz's inability to stay on the field. He likened the situation to the one faced by the San Francisco 49ers in this year's draft, with the 49ers trading up for Trey Lance despite Jimmy Garoppolo being on the roster.

"[The 49ers] sat there and they said, 'Hey we like our starting quarterback; we've got to make sure he stays on the field,'" Roseman said. "And they traded three first-round picks to go up and get another quarterback. And their quarterback has been a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, and they spent a lot of picks on that. And that's what we were saying last year: 'We love Carson, but we've played [five] playoff games and we've needed our backup quarterback in all of them.' It's too important of a position to not have that.

"So, I think that just thinking about where we were in that moment, I think it was the right thing to do. It was a hard decision, but it was the right thing to do."

The Eagles' situation was slightly different, insofar as they didn't trade three first-round picks for Hurts, who was available with the No. 53 pick in last year's draft. Hurts took over for an ineffective Wentz over the final four games of the 2020 season, paving the way for Wentz's acrimonious exit from Philadelphia.

The Oklahoma product is now the unquestioned starter heading into Week 1, and with that role come questions about his passing acumen. Hurts completed only 52 percent of his passes last season, the worst mark of any quarterback with at least 50 pass attempts. While his ability to scramble outside of the pocket makes him a dangerous dual threat, the Eagles have major questions across their roster and will need Hurts to make a noticeable improvement in 2021.

That said, it's not particularly hard to blame them for moving on from Wentz, who was leading the NFL in interceptions when he was benched.