A closer look at Philadelphia’s new quarterback.

With the 2023 NFL Draft over, it’s time for some film rooms on the Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie class. I will try and get to all the players and some UDFAs over the next few weeks. There are loads of scouting reports that will obviously say very similar things, so I have tried to include film clips to back up everything and I will talk about the player’s fit with the Eagles at the end of the piece. I watched the all22 on several rookies, but I can’t share those clips on my own Twitter accounts (or I risk getting blocked), so I’ve used a few other accounts here. Let’s go!

PREVIOUSLY IN THIS SERIES: Jalen Carter review | Nolan Smith review | Tyler Steen review | Sydney Brown review | Kelee Ringo review

Strengths

+ Extremely tall with good size and frame.

+ Has good arm strength to drive the ball, especially in the short/intermediate game

+ Has the juice and velocity on his arm to get the ball down the field and hit receivers in stride.

+ Shows the ability to read the deep safety, process the field and get through his reads.

(Watch him move and hold the deep safety here with his eyes. Phew)

+ Accurate when his feet are set at all levels of the field. Has really good ball placement the majority of the time.

+ Is impressive throwing on the move despite not being a quick-twitch athlete. He can throw on the run on either side.

+ Aggressive down the field and has good touch on deep routes outside the numbers such as fades and go balls.

+ Has an aggressive mentality that isn’t easy to teach to quarterbacks. He will take his chances on one-on-one matchups which fits this offense.

+ Shows subtle pocket management to create throwing lanes and buy himself an extra half a second.

+ Willing to stand in the pocket and take a hit while delivering the football.

Weaknesses

- He’s not built for the modern NFL as an athlete. Slow footed and unable to make free rushers miss. Was sacked a lot last year and had a high pressure to sack %.

- Has a long slow release which allows defenders to hit/sack him. 9 fumbles the past 2 years, partly because of this release. The release also allows cornerbacks to jump in front of routes.

- Has that Carson Wentz thing where he airmails a pass or two a game and it goes flying over his receiver's head. Has led to a few too many interceptions.

- Isn’t a playmaker when the play breaks down. Will not create outside of structure.

- If you are a #QBwinz guy... he has a 6-15 record as a starter.

- Slightly older prospect at 23 years old, only 1 year younger than Jalen Hurts.

Overall

Tanner McKee is the reason I like watching players after we have taken them. I will be honest, I had no idea why we drafted Tanner McKee when the pick happened. I did not see a point in drafting another quarterback when we already have a clear backup quarterback. As well as this, Tanner McKee is basically the opposite of Hurts and Marcus Mariota which is what really confused me.

However, after watching him, I sort of love the pick. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I love these big old-fashioned pocket passers even if the NFL has passed them by. Five years ago, Tanner McKee is definitely an early-round pick. He can do so many things well. He throws with beautiful touch down the field, is pretty consistent with his ball placement, and can get through his progressions.

There are some who would never, ever draft a quarterback like McKee anymore. And I totally get it. He is not going to create outside of structure, has a slow release, and will take too many sacks because he can’t escape. I would not argue with anyone who has McKee off their draft board complete and I’m sure some NFL teams did.

You obviously cannot run the same offense with McKee as you do with Hurts or Mariota, but I think he weirdly does fit the system if he had to play at all over the next couple of years. If we ever saw McKee play, I think this offense would be hilarious. McKee’s strength is his deep accuracy, and the Eagles love running to set up the deep shots down the field. I have convinced myself that the Eagles drafted McKee also purely based on his deep shots down the field. He throws a beautiful ball outside the numbers. Mariota is obviously a much better fit for this Eagles’ offense, but I also don’t really like him as a player and his deep ball is pretty bad. It’s not impossible to think that maybe the Eagles liked McKee enough to draft him, just in case things go really poorly with Mariota.

Tanner McKee may never play a snap for the Eagles (and that will be a good thing) but I can’t lie and pretend that I am not just a little bit intrigued by what this offense would look like.