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Don’t sleep on this Eagles rookie making strides behind the scenes: ‘He’s a sponge’

PHILADELPHIA — This is a big offseason for the Eagles’ quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts has to learn yet another new offense entering a “crossroads” season as the franchise QB. Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton, meanwhile, are battling for the right to be Hurts’ primary backup.

Then, there’s rookie Cole Payton.

It might be easy to forget about him. Don’t.

Payton wasn’t necessarily a priority during organized team activities (OTAs). But the fifth-round rookie out of North Dakota State has made a strong impression behind-the-scenes.

“Cole’s been great,” Eagles quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier said on Monday. “He’s a sponge. He’s very smart. Hard worker. Great demeanor about him.”

It makes sense why Payton, a developmental prospect, through and through, barely saw the field during the two OTA practices open to the media.

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The installation of Sean Mannion’s offense is of utmost importance this offseason, and Hurts needs to get comfortable with it. That’s why Hurts took most of the reps during the media windows.

When Hurts went off the field, we saw a lot of Dalton, the 38-year-old veteran, and McKee, last year’s primary backup. Both are vying for the QB2 job.

Payton taking a backseat to Hurts, Dalton and McKee wasn’t a shock. And that might be the case again during this week’s mandatory minicamp and next month’s training camp.

But those priorities put Payton in a weird spot. Ultimately, he wants to show enough to warrant a spot on the 53-man roster. He’s just had limited chances to do that.

Fortunately, Payton finds himself in a familiar position. The 23-year-old lefty had to bide his time at North Dakota State, waiting four years for his opportunity to start.

Payton is used to absorbing as much information as possible from others and taking steps behind closed doors. And that unique skill is serving him well at the Jefferson Health Training Complex.

“When you talk about a guy who played one year of football at the college level, sat his time, it shows how he can take advantage of learning from other people,” Frazier said. “That’s one thing that’s stuck out. When you have a guy like Jalen, the other guys have to maximize their reps. And he can ask questions based off of other guys’ reps — something that other people might take some time to do. So he’s only going to continue to get better.”

Now, Frazier also said “there’s nothing like getting to do it yourself.” You can learn a lot by watching film. But reps are key, and those have been few and far between for Payton. Still, the No. 178 overall pick has stood out when afforded the opportunity.

“Every chance he gets to go in there and get a rep is just gold for him,” Frazier said. “And he’s been taking advantage of every chance he gets out there.”

We saw that during the Eagles’ second day of OTAs. Payton, working as the QB4, didn’t take any 7-on-7 reps. But in full 11-on-11 team drills, the rookie floated a perfect deep ball to UDFA tight end Dae’Quan Wright for a touchdown on his first snap.

Payton jogged off the field a couple snaps later. But it’s those kinds of moments that can propel a rookie with limited opportunities forward.

We’ll find out more about where Payton stands roster-wise later this summer. The Eagles won’t carry four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and there’s no guarantee Payton will make the team. Kyle McCord, a 2025 sixth-rounder, and Clayton Thorson, a 2019 fifth-rounder, didn’t.

But Howie Roseman also wouldn’t have burned a fifth-round pick on Payton if the Eagles weren’t intrigued by his dual-threat skill set. Add in the possibility of McKee or Dalton being traded to a QB-needy team, Payton seems to be in a good spot with training camp looming.