The Philadelphia Eagles are adopting an offensive system used in different forms throughout the NFL, but they have one element that could make their version significantly harder to defend.
Jalen Hurts can become part of the running game.
During an appearance on the Ross Tucker Podcast, Greg Cosell explained how Philadelphia’s increased use of under-center formations, motion, play-action passes and bootlegs could create opportunities for designed quarterback runs.
Hurts did not have a significant designed-run role last season, but Cosell expects that to change under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
“I think that’s something that they’ll lean on quite a bit,” Cosell said. “In some ways, it is foundational to what this offense can be.”
The threat
of Hurts keeping the football forces a defense to account for an additional runner. Edge defenders cannot immediately crash toward Saquon Barkley, while linebackers must remain disciplined against zone-read concepts, bootlegs and misdirection. Philadelphia can create even more conflict by pairing those elements with motion and condensed formations. A defense preparing to stop Barkley between the tackles must also respect Hurts on the perimeter, intermediate routes behind the linebackers, and receivers moving across the formation.
Ross Tucker noted that the Eagles displayed multiple designed quarterback runs during their joint practices with the New England Patriots. While practice did not reveal the full extent of Mannion’s plan, it offered a glimpse of how Hurts’ mobility could be incorporated.
The Eagles still must balance production with preservation. Hurts’ physical running style has always invited questions about unnecessary contact, particularly over a 17-game season. Philadelphia does not need to expose him to repeated hits for his mobility to influence a defense.
Sometimes the possibility of Hurts keeping the football can be as valuable as the run itself.
That threat should create favorable blocking angles for the offensive line, wider rushing lanes for Barkley and clearer throwing windows off play action. It also gives Mannion a dimension most McVay- or Shanahan-inspired offenses lack. The Eagles are not simply installing another version of a familiar system. With Hurts as a runner, they have a chance to make it their own.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Why designed runs could be foundational to the Eagles’ offense in 2026
