When the 2022 NFL Draft kicked off on Thursday night in Las Vegas, the Philadelphia Eagles made, arguably, the most unexpected, stunning, and long-awaited move of the four day event.
After an earlier trade with the Saints, the Eagles strode into Vegas with two first round draft picks. It was the perfect scenario for a team needing to bolster both sides of the ball with young talent.
As the night progressed to the Eagles’ first pick in the first round, the activity in their war room back in Philadelphia picked up.
First, they traded their 15th, 124th, 162nd and 166th picks to the Texans to move up to the 13th spot, where they selected Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
Then, right before their selection at 18, the Eagles traded the 18th and 101st picks to the Titans for rising star receiver, A.J. Brown.
And that’s when Philadelphia finally did something other teams seldom used to do.
Give a young Black quarterback a star receiver.
It was a move that made Jalen Hurts and all Eagles fans ecstatic. The Eagles finally acquired a Pro Bowl receiver and demonstrated the team’s commitment to their quarterback.
Remember, at the start of the 2021 season the Eagles and then new head coach Nick Sirianni were lukewarm on Hurts as their starter.
Even after he rewarded them with a playoff appearance and great promise of things to come, hesitancy and doubt remained.
Yes, they drafted DeVonta Smith, who showed flashes of the talent he displayed during his tenure at Alabama. But the offense was still devoid of a big star with the personality to match.
Enter A.J. Brown.
In his three seasons with Tennessee, Brown amassed 2,995 yards and 24 TDs on 185 receptions. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020.
When paired with Smith, that gives the Eagles a serious combination. Even more importantly, it provides Jalen Hurts with the weapons to greatly improve upon his good season last year.
Supporting a young Black quarterback with true firepower didn’t always happen as frequently as it should. But when a team commits to their young Black QB and gives him firepower, the results are obvious.
Look at Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray.
When Mahomes was drafted, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce were already on the team. All he did was lead the team to a Super Bowl win in his second year in the league.
Dak Prescott had Amari Cooper and then the team drafted CeeDee Lamb, putting him the position to throw for over 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons before he got hurt in 2020.
The Cardinals traded for DeAndre Hopkins and gave Kyle Murray a true #1, All-Pro receiver before Hopkins went down after the 10th game of the 2021 season.
All three of these quarterbacks are stars, and their teams recognized early on that if they surrounded their QB with talent, he’ll succeed.
This isn’t a novel concept though. Rather, it’s common sense.
Yet it wasn’t always a reality for young Black quarterbacks. Just ask Cam Newton.
Cam had Steve Smith Sr. for three seasons and made the Pro Bowl once. But not even Cam’s dynamic talents could completely overcome Carolina’s glaring offensive deficiencies, particularly at receiver.
Add a Hopkins, Hill or Davante Adams to prime Cam and he might still be in Carolina with a Super Bowl ring.
The Eagles had one of the best drafts this weekend, and actually got what looks like a steal with third round pick (#83) Nakobe Dean, the unanimous All-American and Butkus Award winning junior from Georgia.
But the most significant move came in the trade for A.J. Brown for it gave the team a true #1 at receiver and, most importantly, cemented Philadelphia’s belief in Jalen Hurts as their QB #1.
And that’s what he deserves.
