08 June 2023 , 22:15
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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has labelled Jalen Hurts as the “most coachable person” he has managed in his career.
Hurts has been the starting quarterback for the Eagles ever since his first season with the NFL franchise. The 24-year-old was drafted in 2020 in the second round with the 53rd overall pick
Since then, Hurts has continued to improve with each year in Philadelphia. After throwing just seven touchdown passes in his first season, that number increased to 17 in 2021 and 25 last season on the way to reaching the Super Bowl.
Even though Hurts and the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in February’s Super Bowl, he is still regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. And the Eagles showed faith in him by handing the QB a bumper new contract in April.
The new five-year extension will see Hurts earn a salary of $255 million, with $179m guaranteed. That deal saw Hurts become one of the highest-paid players, never mind quarterbacks, across the entire NFL.
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Sirianni has been working with Hurts since replacing Doug Pederson as head coach in 2021. The Eagles head coach spoke to reporters in his Thursday press conference after the latest organised team activities (OTAs), where he highlighted how easy he finds it to coach and work alongside Hurts.
“Jalen may be the most coachable person I’ve ever been around in my life,” said Sirianni. “And he’s just always looking to get better.
“Now, that’s our job as coaches to make sure we’re feeding him good information. He’s so coachable and he just keeps getting better, and he keeps getting better, and he keeps getting better.
Jalen Hurts is getting ready for his fourth season in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles (John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)“And so I do, I see another jump in everything that he’s done — with the accuracy, with the decision-making. I mean, we’re doing 7-on-7 so there is no … pass rush except for the people who are walking at him with the bags. But I do see his development continuing.
“That’s what we talk about with Jalen all the time. I don’t know what his ceiling is because he just keeps getting better and he’s going to continue to do that.
“So I’ve seen that same jump — the speed of which he makes his decisions, the accuracy of his throws, he’s really had a good spring.”
The Eagles are currently putting in their off-season work, which will step up in August for their pre-season games against the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. From there, all the focus will be on the Week One opener against the New England Patriots on September 10.