The Eagles surprised a lot of people when they took quarterback Cole Payton in the fifth round of the draft. With Jalen Hurts starting, Tanner McKee backing him up and Andy Dalton recently arriving in a trade, the Eagles’ quarterbacks room would seem to be set.
But the Eagles think Payton, who threw for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions last season at North Dakota State, is too good a prospect to pass up.
“Really, really athletic, really good with the ball in his hands in the quarterback run game, made great decisions with the football, accurate passer — 72 percent last year as a starter, and you can’t be that unless you’re making good, accurate throws and going the right place with the ball,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “There are some ‘Wow’ plays on his tape that are really impressive. I think I charted four times he jumped over somebody. I wrote down, ‘He’s the best athlete on the field.’”
Before he became North Dakota State’s starter in 2025, Payton was a backup quarterback used primarily as a runner in certain packages, and he made the most of those opportunities, running for 31 touchdowns in his college career. Sirianni said he’s open to Payton getting on the field in any role he can.
“We’ll see how that goes, get him here, get him acclimated here, have a chance next weekend at rookie minicamp learning the playbook, then we’ll see where it goes from here,” Sirianni said when asked if Payton has a chance to play in some capacity as a rookie.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said you can’t have too many good quarterbacks.
“He was the highest guy on the board and obviously it’s an important position,” Roseman said. We feel really good about the three quarterbacks that are here, we plan to have them here, we’re excited about all three of those guys. It’s not about them, it’s about staying true to the process and taking the best player available. . . . We’re open to keeping four quarterbacks, for sure. It’s the most important position in sports. If you have four good ones, why wouldn’t you keep them?”
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