The Eagles may be down to their next man at quarterback, and rookie Cole Payton is handling the moment like someone who has been waiting for it.
With Jalen Hurts out for some time because of a blood clot in his calf, Tanner McKee is lined up for his third career start Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. That puts Payton, the fifth-round pick from North Dakota State, one play away from his NFL debut.
He sounded ready for it on Friday.
“Very prepared,” Payton said when asked at his locker if he would be ready to go if something happens to McKee. “Whether the two or the four, I've been preparing every single week like I'm the starter.
That's our expectation. That's been our expectation.
I feel very confident for when my number's called.”
Payton already got a taste of regular-season action last week in the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, when he played 10 special team snaps. For him, it was a small step, but still a meaningful one.
“Last week was a blast,” Payton said about the special team’s opportunity. “I'm willing to do whatever it takes.
I'll do whatever. I love the game.”
That attitude has been apparent throughout camp and into the season. Head coach Nick Sirianni praised the work Payton has put in behind the scenes, pointing to the extra reps and time he’s logged with coaches after practice.
“I think he's worked his butt off,” Sirianni said before Friday’s practice. “He gets plays in those developmental periods.
He gets reps on the scout team as well. He works extremely hard with the coaches after practice.
He gets even more reps there after practice with [Quarterbacks Coach] Parks [Frazier] and with Gummy [Offensive Assistant/Assistant Quarterbacks Coach Montgomery VanGorder], just continuing to go through different things that we have as tools.”
Payton has routinely stayed behind after practice since training camp, throwing to whoever is around while Hurts has often remained to watch. In an organization that likes to call itself a “quarterback factory,” that kind of work matters.
“For Coach Sirianni to carve out time every single day after practice - were getting DVO 7 on 7, DVO mesh work with the running backs, were doing team stuff at the end of practices - I think those reps add up every single day, and its huge,” Payton said.
Those DVO periods are part of Sirianni’s effort to give a player buried on the depth chart the kind of work he needs to develop. General manager Howie Roseman said at the start of camp that the team sees “long term value” in keeping Payton on the roster.
On the field, Payton has already shown the aggressive style that made him noticeable during the preseason. He has taken chances, and that has come with interceptions in camp and preseason. But that edge is also part of what makes him interesting.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in throwing the football,” Payton said during training camp. “But in the NFL, these windows are a lot tighter and so I’ve got to take care of the football.
I’ve thrown a few picks. But there’s that balance of knowing when to strike and knowing when to take the check-downs.
Going through those growing pains but taking the ups and the downs.”
What he’s been focused on most lately is the finer details - the rhythm, timing and mechanics that come with NFL football.
“The biggest thing is just the rhythm and timing and football,” Payton said about what he has been working on during developmental periods in practice. “Throwing NFL routes, concepts and schemes. That has been the biggest learning curve and the detail that Sean [Mannion] puts into the offense.
“You can get away with sloppy footwork in college. Now you can’t.
With these DBs and LBs, with these huge D-linemen, you can’t get away with that. Its sharpening those fundamentals every single day.”
The confidence is there. The work has been there. And with McKee set to start, Payton is one snap away from getting the call.
“It’s exciting, you come to play this game and do whatever it takes,” Payton smiled at the thought of his number being called. “Super confident in Tanner … but I am ready.”
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