Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been squaring off with Jalen Hurts in practices for a few years now and that makes him a good source to find out if there’s anything different about the quarterback heading into this season.
Fangio provided an answer to that question during a Tuesday press conference and it centered on how Hurts is moving on the field this summer.
“Jalen’s having a good camp,” Fangio said, via a transcript from the team. “He looks faster. Obviously, we can’t touch him during practice. There’s always that debate whether you had him or not. There’s been a few times where our guys think they had him and they really didn’t. He’s moving good and I think he’s doing a nice job with the new offense. A lot’s been made about him, all these coordinators he’s been with, but it’s basically been the same offense every year. This is different. He’s done a great job with it.”
Fangio’s assessment is shared by one of the top players on his unit. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was asked by reporters about Fangio’s belief that Hurts is moving faster than he has in the past.
“Oh yeah,” Carter said. “I had him coming out of a little play-action rollout and I chased him down a couple times. Honestly, he be moving. I don’t know what it is. But when I’m watching him when I’m running, it’s like a movie. Feels like I’m going slow. He be moving, man. He’s been working hard and he’s the one.”
Hurts ran for 421 yards last season, which was his lowest output in his six years as the team’s full-time starter. Reports from Eagles practice show Hurts has been running more in offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s scheme and combining that with a little more speed seems likely to push those numbers in the other direction.