Doug Pederson was the Eagles head coach for Jalen Hurts’ rookie year in 2020, so he had a front-row seat to the early stages of the quarterback’s career.
That’s part of why Pederson feels the way he does about Hurts after seeing how the quarterback performed in 2022.
“It’s really no surprise to me the success that Jalen’s having right now and just wish him the best moving forward,” Pederson told John Clark of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com on an episode of The Takeoff podcast. “But the things that impressed me the most are probably the things you see off the football field. The leadership ability, his work ethic, the way he approaches the game, the way he studies the game, the way he wants to be coached — he wants to be coached hard. The things that sometimes the fans don’t see. They obviously see the end product on the football field. And he’s a tremendous kid and tremendous talent.
“He’s the right guy for that job and just wish him nothing but great success moving forward.”
Hurts finished No. 2 in MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes last season. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes in 2022 for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 760 yards with 13 touchdowns.
With Hurts behind center, the Eagles are once again expected to be a top contender in the NFC in 2023.