Eagles Additions That Would Benefit Jalen Hurts' Development at QB

The Philadelphia Eagles had a successful season in Nick Sirianni's first year at the helm, but the ceiling of the franchise is dependent on the development of Jalen Hurts.

The second-year quarterback showed a lot of promise in his first full campaign as the starter. He led all quarterbacks in rushing yards, improved his completion percentage by almost 10 points and, most importantly, became the youngest quarterback in team history to start a playoff game.

It isn't always pretty or conventional, but Hurts proved he can run the offense well enough to get to the postseason.

Now it's up to the Eagles as an organization to find out how far he can take them. That means surrounding him with the best team possible. The team doesn't have a ton of cap space. Over the Cap projects Philadelphia's cap space to effectively be $12.9 million.

While they can create additional room through cuts and restructures, they likely aren't going to save enough to get in on the biggest free agents in the class. They do, however, have three first-round draft picks and a good-enough team situation to bring in some veterans who want to compete.

Considering the Eagles' resources, here are three realistic additions who could help Hurts reach his potential.

Over the second half of the season, the Eagles seemed to figure out their offensive identity. With Hurts' ability as a runner, they can be a dominant ground-and-pound team.

Philadelphia featured one of the best offensive lines in the league and was third in the league in rushing EPA, per RBSDM.com.

While the team should want to see its quarterback continue to make strides as a passer, it should be looking to build off the success it had on the ground. Finding a No. 2 tight end who could allow them to employ more 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) could be beneficial on both fronts.

In 2021, the Eagles were in 12 personnel 26 percent of the time and had a successful pass rate of 56 percent out of it. By contrast, they were in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end) 65 percent of the time and only had successful passes 41 percent of the time, per Sharp Football Stats.

Maxx Williams is a free agent who could be affordable and allow them to expand their use of two-tight end sets. The 27-year-old tore his ACL in October but has the third-highest blocking grade at PFF among tight ends over the past five years.

Williams could be used as an in-line blocker with receiving abilities so that Dallas Goedert can be moved all over the formation, giving Hurts a better combination of run-blocking and pass-catching on the field.

The aforementioned offensive line was key to diverting pressure from Hurts and clearing run lanes this season. The Eagles unit finished fourth in PFF's final offensive line rankings of the season.

Jason Kelce was a big part of that ranking. The four-time All-Pro has made a habit of being one of the best centers in football.

But how much longer that will be the case is up for debate. Sirianni has already begun recruiting Kelce to come back for another season, but retirement could be a consideration for the 34-year-old.

The team drafted Landon Dickerson last year as a replacement option for Kelce, but it could add another prospect with All-Pro potential in Tyler Linderbaum (scouting report) with one of its first-round picks.

Dickerson played at guard this season and could remain there. The Eagles would be adding a potential stud in Linderbaum, whose work at center at Iowa has him ranked ninth overall on Bleacher Report's latest big board.

Linderbaum's nasty aggression in the run game and strong understanding of the game would give Hurts another reliable blocker in the middle of the lineup.

Hurts has his clear-cut No. 1 receiver in DeVonta Smith. He has a burgeoning slot specialist in Quez Watkins. Unless Jalen Reagor has an improbable third-year breakout, he's one receiver shy of a dangerous trio.

While the Eagles probably don't have the cap space to pursue the likes of Chris Godwin, Davante Adams and Mike Williams, they should be on the lookout for free agents who could help right away but might come at a discount.

DJ Chark Jr. fits the bill.

Even though he's entering his fifth year in the league, his potential is still unknown. At 6'3" and 199 pounds with 4.34 speed in the 40-yard dash, he has all the makings of a deep threat on the outside. He flashed that in his second season with Jacksonville when he had 73 catches for 1,008 yards.

That was with Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles throwing him the ball. With Urban Meyer shaking up the offense during his ill-fated spell as head coach, Chark had just seven catches on 22 targets in four games before missing the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

That lack of production and the injury could drive down his price to a point that the Eagles could get value from signing him. Hooking up Hurts with a big downfield target would sure help a quarterback who was fourth in average intended air yards, per Next Gen Stats.