June 30, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles training camp begins at the end of July, so over the next few weeks we'll detail what we need to see from each positional group heading into the 2026 season. We'll start with the quarterbacks.
Also, rather than profile each player individually like we have in the past, I thought that this year we would do bullet points for each noteworthy thing to watch.
First, the depth chart:
| QB1 | QB2 | QB3 | QB4 |
| Jalen Hurts | Tanner McKee | Andy Dalton | Cole Payton |
• Jalen Hurts will be working with yet another new offensive coordinator this year, Sean Mannion, his tenth OC setup in 11 seasons going back to college:
2016: Lane Kiffin
2017: Brian Daboll
2018: Mike Locksley
2019: Lincoln Riley's offense (co-coordinated by Cale Gundy and Bill Bedenbaugh)
2020: Doug Pederson
2021-2022: Shane Steichen
2023: Brian Johnson
2024: Kellen Moore
2025: Kevin Patullo
2026: Sean Mannion
Mannion is a disciple of the Shanahan coaching tree having served under Matt LeFleur. He has also played for a lot of recognizable offensive minds, like Sean McVay, LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Gary Kubiak, Kevin Stefanski, Klint Kubiak, Dave Canales, and Grant Udinski.
From Hurts' perspective, there wasn't wholesale change from one coordinator to the next in some of those years noted above, but the offense should look significantly different with Mannion running the show.
We already saw during spring practices that the Eagles will be operating more under center than they have, as Hurts has mostly worked out of shotgun throughout his career. We will also likely see significantly more purposeful pre-snap motion, designed to provide tells for what looks the defense is in.
Hurts seems to be welcoming these changes, but we'll see how well he adjusts to that style of play.
• The Shanahan offense also often requires quarterbacks to throw on the run via misdirection play action. Hurts has sometimes looked uncomfortable rolling to his left and throwing on the run, so that could be something the Eagles work on this summer.
• The Eagles got to the line slower than any team in the NFL last season. I would imagine that correcting that has to be a point of emphasis this season. I would put the Eagles' struggles on that front way more on Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni than I would on Hurts, but it will interesting to see if that gets fixed, and if Hurts has more time to make checks at the line, which he often didn't in 2025.
• One big talking point with Hurts this offseason has been his avoidance of the middle of the field. The contention here is that he has already proven in the past that he can throw efficiently over the middle of the field, but there's no debating that he rarely did the last two seasons, whether that was a product of the scheme or his own aversion to it. His usage of the middle of the field in camp will be worth watching.
• Over the last four years Hurts threw a ton to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. He did not seem comfortable throwing to other receivers. With Brown gone, Smith and Goedert can't get every target, right? So, we'll see if Hurts can develop rapport quickly with newcomers like first-round pick Makai Lemon, trade acquisition Dontayvion Wicks, and free agent acquisition Hollywood Brown, among others
• Tanner McKee has quietly gone about his business as a backup quarterback for the Eagles for three full years, diligently preparing as if he's the starter. And when he has gotten his opportunities — with the exception of one game last season during which he played with the second-team offensive line and backups at the skill positions — he has mostly looked the part of a player who could earn a starting job at some point, even if with another team.
And yet, despite his continued progression as a pro quarterback, he was competing for the QB2 job this spring with a 38-year-old Andy Dalton, who the team acquired via a mere seventh-round pick this offseason. Weird.
McKee pretty clearly outplayed Dalton during the spring, at least during the media-attended practices, but it's interesting that the team felt that he should have to earn the QB2 spot, which in my opinion, he already has the last three-plus years.
• If developmental fifth-round rookie Cole Payton shows anything throughout camp, the Eagles will have four roster-worthy quarterbacks. It'll be hard to keep them all on their 53. With both McKee and Dalton scheduled to be free agents next offseason, it will be interesting to see if trade offers come in for either player.
A trade scenario for McKee would be if some other team around the league suddenly lost their starter, Teddy Bridgewater-style. A trade scenario for Dalton would be if some team just isn't happy with how their QB2 looks, and would feel more comfortable with an extremely experienced player like Dalton.
• During the spring, Payton got a few reps and showed off nice touch in the intermediate part of the field. I do have some concerns with his arm strength, but there have been plenty of quarterbacks in the NFL who have found success without possessing a Howitzer for an arm. If Payton can't rip throws into tight windows, he's going to have to offset that by throwing with anticipation, and that could be a multi-year learning process.
• Because Payton is such a high-level athlete for a quarterback who actually played other positions as well as special teams while he was a backup quarterback at NDSU, I'm curious if the Eagles will try him at any other spots. My guess is no, for the record, since it's already hard enough for a rookie just trying to learn an NFL playbook fresh off an often grueling pre-draft process. The Eagles aren't hurting for impressive athletes, so I believe they'll just let Payton develop at quarterback, and if it makes sense to put more on his plate down the road, then fine.
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