A new QB coach, a new draft prediction for Eagles by ~BROZ

The new Eagles coaching staff keeps getting younger—

Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is headed to the Philadelphia Eagles as quarterbacks coach, a source told ESPN.

Johnson, 33, will join the staff of new Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. He spent the past three seasons under Dan Mullen at Florida, and was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator for the 2020 season. In doing so, he became the first Black offensive coordinator in the University of Florida’s history.

Johnson also has served as offensive coordinator at both Houston and Utah, his alma mater. He went 26-7 as the Utes’ starting quarterback and led the team to an undefeated season and a Sugar Bowl championship in 2008.

Johnson worked with standout quarterbacks like Dak Prescott at Mississippi State, D’Eriq King at Houston and Kyle Trask at Florida, who became a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2020. This will be his first stop in the NFL.

Johnson has an interesting link to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. He played under Hurts’ father, Averion, at Baytown Lee High School in Texas and has known Jalen since he was 4 years old, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Johnson later recruited Jalen to play at Mississippi State, but Hurts ultimately chose Alabama.

Florida’s offense scored 39.8 points per game in 2020, which ranked 13th in the country. Trask, who was a backup on his high school team his final three years, had a monster year, completing 69 percent of his throws for over 4,000 yards with 43 touchdowns to eight interceptions.

The Eagles are assembling a young staff under 39-year-old Sirianni, with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon (37), offensive coordinator Shane Steichen (35), pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo (39) and Johnson (33) all under 40.

Well, what a perfect backdrop for our resident Drafttek expert ~BROZ to make his first simulated “Round 1” pick for the Eagles’ 2021 Draft. The key for ~BROZ seems to be in the word “development”— we’re going to draft for the future, just as we’re hiring young coaches to develop for innovation with future talent.

Anyway, ~BROZ has the Eagles spending their 6th overall pick on this guy:

6

Philadelphia

Zach Wilson BYU QB Reach/Value: -1

Height: 6’3″ Weight: 210

“If you’re an Eagle fan, you’ve probably spent the last couple of weeks reading about the 98 different head coach candidates the team was rumored to be hiring. Now, finally, the Eagles’ coaching staff has mostly been formed. All eyes will now be on QB Carson Wentz, how the new coaching staff deals with him, what the front office does with him, etc. It will be fascinating how that whole dynamic plays out. Though less likely now than it was a few weeks ago, it’s not out of the question than Wentz could still get traded. New coaches do like brand-new, sparkly QBs, and Wentz seems to want some guarantee that he’ll be handed the starting job regardless of his horrible 2020 play. This will be one of the top storylines league-wide over the upcoming months.

“So, in this CMD, we will explore the scenario where the Eagles do find a trade partner for Wentz, and a deal is worked out. If this happens, the chances of the Eagles targeting a QB in RD1 obviously skyrockets. I mentioned in the last CMD that I thought BYU’s Zach Wilson wouldn’t make it out of the Top 3 picks. I now feel strongly that Wilson will be the second pick of the Draft…either by the Jets, or by some team they trade with. Wilson may not have the pure cannon of a Justin Fields, however his “arm talent” is superior. He can throw at different levels, different angles or trajectories…he just has mastery over the football, and is one of the most creative throwers you’ll see. With 3,700 Pass YDS, 33 TDs, and just 3 INTs, with 10 Rushing TDs and tape like THIS, Zach Wilson is the #1 pick in a whole lot of drafts that don’t include guys like Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence.” — Broz, Eagles Analyst

EYE know, about six months ago you didn’t think the Birds would be looking at a quarterback in the 1st Round of 2021, didja? Well, take it from ~BROZ…. times of uncertainty are upon us.