Eagles Draft Potential Jalen Hurts Successor After Eye-Popping Combine

Jalen Hurts is the undisputed starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

He’s led them to two Super Bowls and won a Lombardi Trophy for the city of Philadelphia only two years ago.

But competition is never a bad thing, and the Eagles decided to roll the dice on Saturday by selecting one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire NFL Draft: North Dakota State’s Cole Payton.

More news: This Unknown QB Could Be the Best Player in the 2026 NFL Draft

More news: Winners and Losers From Round 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft

If you’ve never heard of Payton, that’s OK.

He only played a single full season for the Bison at NDSU, and it was more of what he did at the NFL Scouting Combine that made some scouts salivate over his potential.

As a pure athlete, Payton is one of the best to come through college in the past decade, rivaling Anthony Richardson.

He has a huge arm, a big body, and can truck over players with his commanding speed.

As a finished project, though, like the color of his jersey for NDSU, Payton is extremely green. He’s a project that will most likely need years to fully reach his ceiling as a signal-caller.

So while this isn’t a pick for tomorrow, in two to three years, Payton might be the type of player who could succeed Hurts, depending on the contract and how the team is doing overall.

The Eagles are no strangers to QBs like Payton, having drafted Carson Wentz from NDSU in the 2016 Draft a decade ago. Although Wentz was more polished at the time, he was a similar player to Payton in terms of ceiling and what he could do on the field.

While it’s unlikely we will hear Payton’s name called in a regular season game for at least two years, unless there are major injuries or in garbage time, that won’t stop Eagles fans from shouting his name if Hurts gets off to a slow start in 2026.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 1:34 PM.