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The DiCecco Daily, Positional Preview Series: Hurts, McKee Form Outstanding Starter-Backup Tandem · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened everybody? How are you feeling out there?
• 0:11
  This is Andrew Ducheco. Welcome in to another edition of
• 0:14
  the check O Daily. Hope everybody's staying cool out there.
• 0:17
  It's a melting pot. But we have plenty of topics
• 0:22
  to get into for the Eagles, and now we are
• 0:24
  going to unveil for the next two weeks my positional
• 0:28
  preview where I start to go through every position and
• 0:33
  we're going to start with quarterbacks.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: And this is something that we're going to run.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: I said this for the next couple of weeks, and
• 0:40
  we're going to go for quarterbacks all the way to specialists,
• 0:43
  and today we're going to start with quarterbacks. You have
• 0:46
  to feel really good about where the Eagles quarterback situation
• 0:49
  is right now.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: The room has a little bit of everything.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: They have a Super Bowl MVP who's quickly becoming among
• 0:56
  the elitea at his position and the face of that
• 0:59
  position in the NFL. You have a rising quarterback who's
• 1:03
  second in command in Tanner McKee, who I think has
• 1:07
  starting potential for someone. And then you have an intriguing
• 1:11
  developmental player and Kyle McCord, who the Eagles drafted in
• 1:13
  the sixth round also have experience with Dorian Thompson Robinson,
• 1:19
  so they have an interesting room and we're gonna kind
• 1:22
  of break out break down how the different players fit
• 1:26
  into the equation. Obviously, obviously we already know that Jayalen
• 1:30
  Hurts is going to be piloting this high octane Eagles
• 1:34
  offense fresh off a Super Bowl MVP season, and I mean,
• 1:40
  he keeps checking off every single box and now the
• 1:43
  offense is looking to reach new heights under new offensive
• 1:46
  coordinator Kevin Batulo. But I'm not expecting this transition to
• 1:50
  take as much time as the transition took when Kellen
• 1:54
  Moore took the Rains last year as the play caller,
• 1:58
  because Jalen's worked with Kevin Batullo since Kevin Petullo joined
• 2:02
  Nick Sirianni's staff in twenty twenty one, and working closely
• 2:07
  throughout the seasons. I'm expecting both Jay one and Kevin
• 2:11
  to know exactly the strengths and areas of opportunity and
• 2:15
  find ways to tower the offense around the skills of
• 2:20
  his franchise quarterback. But Jayleen mentioned the need for the
• 2:25
  offense to evolve, and when you hear the word evolve, it.
• 2:27
  Certainly you wouldn't think that it's going to pertain to
• 2:31
  the running game, right. I think that that is pretty
• 2:33
  well at hand with say Kwon Barkley and that Eagles
• 2:36
  offensive line. Now, when I hear Evolve, I think of
• 2:39
  the passing game and different ways that they can really
• 2:42
  tap into that and expand on what last season was
• 2:46
  a little bit of an underwhelming passing attack, and I
• 2:49
  think you need to see more balance, and when I
• 2:51
  hear Evolve, that is what I'm envisioning to see some
• 2:55
  different wrinkles.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: Maybe they decide to open.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Things up and push the ball down the field like
• 2:59
  they did a few seasons ago. They have too talented
• 3:03
  of a receiving corps and if you want it, you're
• 3:06
  gonna have to throw in Dallas Goddard into that, into
• 3:08
  that equation to not be able to exploit that and
• 3:12
  take advantage of the different qualities that each player has.
• 3:16
  And I think that Jalen is primed for a really
• 3:19
  big season and a breakthrough in a balanced offense. I
• 3:24
  think this is going to be something to keep an
• 3:27
  eye on. But one thing that's really stuck out stuck
• 3:30
  out to me this spring with Jalen is that one,
• 3:33
  he wasn't dwelling on the Super Bowl. He wanted to
• 3:35
  talk and fixate on the twenty twenty five season, and
• 3:40
  that has been the mindset of everybody on the roster.
• 3:43
  They're not sort of basking in that Super Bowl glow
• 3:46
  like you see some teams do. They are focused on
• 3:49
  the task in hand. That all starts with Nick Sirianni
• 3:51
  and Jalen Hurts. And what I did notice from Jalen
• 3:54
  during the spring and again spring sessions OTAs they cater
• 3:59
  to the passing game. It's really a passing camp.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: You can't really.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Glean much in terms of trench play or even running back,
• 4:06
  so there's no contact. But from what I saw from Jaywen,
• 4:09
  you're seeing a lot of decisiveness throwing with timing and touch,
• 4:14
  and there weren't a.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Lot of explosive plays.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: But then again, you're not really going to be able
• 4:19
  to know what the offense is truly going to look
• 4:22
  like until Week one rolls around.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: But I have high expectations.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: For Jaywen in this offense, and I think he's going
• 4:28
  to take his game to another level this season in
• 4:32
  what I'm expecting to be a banner twenty twenty five campaign.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: So there's no question about.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Who sits atop the pecking order in the quarterback room,
• 4:42
  and there's no question about who sits at number two
• 4:45
  backing up Jalen Hurts, and that is going to be
• 4:47
  Tanner McKee, who last season and the season prior was
• 4:50
  a number three quarterback behind Jalen Hurts.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Last season he was behind Kenny Pickett as well.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: But I think that what you saw from Tanner McKee
• 4:57
  last season, when he was pressed into by a game
• 5:00
  half of service, I think he really cemented his status
• 5:04
  as the two you know, throwing going, you know, throwing
• 5:08
  forty five passes, completing thirty for three hundred and twenty
• 5:11
  three yards and four touchdowns. The whole playbook seemed to
• 5:14
  be at his disposal. He was in really good command
• 5:16
  of the offense. Again, another player who has familiarity with
• 5:19
  Kevin Patulo, and what I saw from Tanner this spring
• 5:24
  was much of the same. It was a quarterback who
• 5:26
  was very in control of the offense. He knew where
• 5:30
  to go with the football. He was trusting the receivers
• 5:33
  that he was working with, and sometimes you don't often
• 5:35
  see that. You see them maybe lean or prefer a
• 5:38
  player or two but he was spreading the ball round
• 5:40
  to tight ends and wide wide receivers. So it's also relevant,
• 5:47
  in my opinion to note how much confidence the team
• 5:50
  and the organization has in Tanner McKee. We don't often
• 5:53
  talk about the value that the Eguals are getting from McKee,
• 5:56
  who was drafted in the sixth round, the one hundred
• 5:59
  and eighty eighth Oh, we're all pick in the twenty
• 6:01
  twenty three draft.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: And to be able to have.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Him elevate into the number two role and be that
• 6:07
  undisputed primary reserve for Jalen Hurts, I think it is tremendous.
• 6:13
  It's a tremendous you know, tip of the caps to
• 6:15
  Howie Roseman and Eagles brass for finding a player who
• 6:19
  can help you in in a tangible way.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: And we all know how valuable.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: That number two quarterback role is looked at in this organization.
• 6:27
  And Tanner McKee I keep getting, you know, more and
• 6:31
  more impressed with him. He's already developed sort of a
• 6:34
  cult following based on his preseason performances, and that only
• 6:37
  grew when you saw what he was able to do,
• 6:40
  you know, compared to maybe a Kenny Pickett, and he
• 6:42
  was you know, really really dealing when he.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Got his opportunities.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: But this does feel like a case where the Eagles
• 6:49
  are renting Tanner McKee because I view him as someone
• 6:53
  who will eventually Garner starting consideration elsewhere, moving on to
• 7:00
  the third well, the next quarterback. We'll get into where
• 7:03
  he fits in a moment.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: Kyle McCord.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Kyle McCord is a little bit further down the pecking order,
• 7:09
  so reps are gonna be a little bit at a
• 7:12
  premium this summer.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: But I think he really helped himself in the spring.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: He made some really nice throws over the middle of
• 7:21
  the field and fit him into tight windows. Again, you
• 7:25
  never want to make too much of it, but I
• 7:26
  think that's something that Kyle McCord can build off of
• 7:29
  for some who need a refresher.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: McCord left led.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: The FBS in passing yards four seven and seventy nine
• 7:36
  yards in his loan season at Syracuse as the starter,
• 7:39
  and he's more of a timing based thrower. He's good
• 7:42
  with throwing with anticipation, and I think that he's going
• 7:45
  to also benefit from that long standing relationship with quarterbacks
• 7:50
  coach Scott Leffler, who offered him a scholarship in eighth grade.
• 7:55
  So now they're reunited and I think that that should
• 7:58
  help his progress. And I'm not quite sure how the
• 8:01
  snaps are going to be divvied up in training camp,
• 8:05
  but I have to imagine that if Kyle mccorr doesn't
• 8:09
  open camp as the number three and they sort of
• 8:12
  show deference to a veteran player like Dorian Thompson Robinson,
• 8:15
  it's only going to be a matter of time before
• 8:17
  McCord leaves him in the pecking order. In my opinion, one,
• 8:21
  they've drafted him, so there's investment there. But two, I
• 8:24
  just think he's a better thrower of the football and
• 8:26
  somebody who the Eagles probably view as somebody that they're
• 8:29
  going to room and develop, and he can eventually be
• 8:32
  the number two quarterback in Philadelphia. So I am expecting
• 8:36
  McCord in that in training camp to seize control of
• 8:39
  the number three quarterback job behind Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Which brings us to Dorian Thompson Robinson.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: He was acquired in that trade that sent Kenny Pickett
• 8:51
  to the Browns. He does bring fifteen games in five
• 8:54
  starts of NFL experience that shouldn't be understated AND's twenty
• 8:59
  five years old. He was a fifth round pick in
• 9:02
  twenty twenty three, so the same draft class as Tanner McKee,
• 9:05
  but he didn't have a ton of success. I should
• 9:08
  also not that Eagles brought him in for a thirty visit,
• 9:11
  so there was interest there, which obviously goes a long way,
• 9:15
  and he's going to get his opportunities as well. But
• 9:18
  let's look at what he was able to do when
• 9:20
  he did have his opportunities on the field. He completed
• 9:22
  just one hundred and twenty one of two hundred and
• 9:24
  thirty pass attempts for eight hundred and eighty yards and
• 9:27
  a touchdown, also ten receptions in those opportunities. So I
• 9:33
  just don't see a quarterback in Thompson Robinson. And maybe
• 9:36
  it takes him a little bit of time to get
• 9:38
  reped up and training camp will be a different player.
• 9:42
  But there was a noticeable difference when you watch the
• 9:45
  different quarterbacks throw the football in the spring. I don't
• 9:49
  know that Thompson Robinson has the accuracy or the timing
• 9:54
  to really be able to keep pace with someone like
• 9:56
  a Kyle McCord. I think his reps won't be as
• 10:00
  frequent as McCord eventually, and we often see that in
• 10:03
  training camp the fourth quarterback really you're working on the
• 10:06
  fourth team and the reps are so infrequent that you
• 10:10
  don't really have much of an opportunity. But he will
• 10:13
  have an opportunity in the preseason to showcase his ability.
• 10:16
  But he does have experience, which obviously helps. He's a
• 10:20
  different type of quarterback than McCord, and I'm interested to
• 10:24
  see what he's able to do with this opportunity. Obviously,
• 10:27
  like I mentioned, the Eagles did show interest in him
• 10:29
  a couple of years ago. But I think for him
• 10:34
  to really be able to challenge and push Kyle McCord
• 10:37
  in any meaningful way, he has to be more consistent.
• 10:40
  He has to showcase more refinement, and maybe he will
• 10:44
  with Scott Leffler, you know, and that two to which,
• 10:47
  but until we see it, it's kind of hard for
• 10:50
  me to forecast an optimistic view when I think that McCord,
• 10:55
  being that he was drafted and he has developmental qualities,
• 10:58
  would probably be the reference, especially long term and you know,
• 11:03
  experience a side. I expect Thompson Robinson to garner fewer opportunities,
• 11:07
  as I mentioned, to really be able to demonstrate what
• 11:10
  he's all about, and I think that most of his
• 11:14
  opportunities are going to be relegated to preseason play. So
• 11:17
  there is your four person quarterback room, and I sort
• 11:20
  of outlined where they fit and what I'm forecasting for
• 11:23
  them in twenty twenty five. Tomorrow, we're going to take
• 11:27
  a look at the running back room, which is obviously
• 11:29
  highlighted by none other than Saquon Barkley as we move
• 11:32
  through the offense, and then we will pivot and cover
• 11:35
  the defense as well. This has been to Czechodai. Stay
• 11:38
  tuned for this positional preview for the next couple of
• 11:40
  weeks right here on the Czechodaii. Everybody, have a great
• 11:43
  day and stay cool out there.