DeSean Jackson urged Eagles to prioritize Jalen Hurts over Carson Wentz in 2020: “His mentality was different”
DeSean Jackson gave a vote of confidence to Jalen Hurts over Carson Wentz as he retired from the NFL as a Philadelphia Eagles member. The wide receiver, who was selected by the Eagles in the 2008 NFL Draft, returned for a second stint in 2019 and stayed with them until 2020.
During that time, he played with Carson Wentz as the starter. The quarterback was instrumental in leading the the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl, particularly during the regular season, before Nick Foles assumed the job due to an injury.
So, when Jalen Hurts was selected in the second round by the Eagles, when everyone assumed they already had their franchise quarterback, there were a few raised eyebrows.
However, DeSean Jackson said that he had no doubts that the organization was making the right decision. During his official retirement, he revealed that he had already confided to general manager Howie Roseman:
"You should ask (General Manager) Howie Roseman. I was lobbying for Jalen Hurts back when we had Carson Wentz at that time. When everyone was like, ‘Why would we take Jalen Hurts in the second round?’"
The now-retired wide receiver recalled an instance from practice when he said that:
"I remember we were at practice and Jalen, he was the backup behind Wentz, we were sitting back, me, Howie, I think (former Eagles receiver) Alshon Jeffery, and Jalen was going versus the starting defense because when you’re the backup you go versus the ones, so sitting there watching him, I’m just seeing him slinging the ball and he’s making crazy plays, and I looked back at Howie and said, ‘Howie, I told you, that kid’s going to be special, man.’"
DeSean Jackson reveals how Jalen Hurts came to train with him in Tampa even as Carson Wentz was the starter
DeSean Jackson also spoke about Jalen Hurts' drive and how during the offseason in 2020, he came down to practise with the wide receiver in Tampa. It was when Carson Wentz was still the starter. Jackson said:
"Just to see where he’s at now — one thing I can say, back when I was here in 2020, we trained in the offseason and he came to Tampa, and everyone was like, ‘Why is Jalen Hurts training with DeSean Jackson?
"Why isn’t Carson Wentz out there training?’ He just made it convenient because I trained in Tampa and he came out and trained with me, and we trained for a whole week, and we were able to build, and I could see his mentality was different then."
DeSean Jackson also paid tribute to the current Eagles starting quarterback's will to win:
"You could see . . . how eager he was to win. . . . The game was never too big, his persona, his demeanor, he’s walking around, flipping the ball, I’m like, there’s something special about him.
"The game is not too big for him. I definitely saw Jalen Hurts before what the world sees now. ... He’s going to have some special moments in Philadelphia. As you can see, he’s QB No. 1 for a reason."
As things stand, Carson Wentz is a backup in the NFL now, and Hurts led the team to a Super Bowl appearance last season and looks good for another tilt.