Fansided

Reggie Bush went off about how the Eagles are using Jalen Hurts

By Josh Hill

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 22: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on October 22, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 22: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on October 22, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The way the Philadelphia Eagles are using Jalen Hurts isn’t making Reggie Bush very happy — nor does it seem to be working. 

Perhaps the most surprising quarterback selection in this past year’s draft wasn’t the Packers trading up for Jordan Love, rather the Eagles using a third-round pick on Jalen Hurts.

The former Alabama and Oklahoma star was expected to be a high pick, but teams like the Buccaneers and Colts were expected to draft-and-stash him behind their veteran starters. If they had drafted Hurts instead of Love, perhaps we’d be looking back at the Packers draft a lot differently than we initially did.

But it was the Eagles, a team four years removed from using the No. 2 overall pick on Carson Wentz, that drafted Hurts. The idea has seemingly been to use him much in the same way the New Orleans Saints use Taysom Hill, but so far Hurts’ rookie season hasn’t garnered much more than a shoulder shrug.

For former NFL player Reggie Bush though, the reaction is less a shrug and more a fist slam.

Eagles are wasting Jalen Hurts and putting him in danger with bad calls

Bush went off on the Eagles during Thursday night’s game after Philly brought Hurts in for a predictable read-option play that was sniffed out as soon as the rookie ran on to the field.

“[The] Eagles need to stop bringing Jalen Hurts in for that very predictable play. Everybody knows it’s going to be read-option,” Bush commented during the Thursday Night game. “But this isn’t college football anymore you’re [sic] going to get him injured.”

The key difference between Hill and Hurts is that the latter could legitimately be a franchise quarterback. The Saints are methodical about using a player’s skill to absolute perfection within Sean Payton’s system, but he is not going to fill the shoes Drew Brees leaves behind.

Given the poor performance of Wentz over the last handful of seasons — and outside of a 2018 MVP-esque season that looks more and more like an outlier — it’s very plausible that Hurts could be an heir to the Philly quarterback throne.

But using him in ridiculously predictable play calls isn’t helping and it’s likely to do more harm than good.

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