Whatever the Philadelphia Eagles saw in backup quarterback Tanner McKee in 2 games at the end of the 2024 regular season, it made them feel confident enough to trade Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns.
It didn’t make them confident enough to not get another backup quarterback in return, swapping Pickett for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth round pick on March 10.
While Pickett, a former first round pick, now gets a chance to start in Cleveland, the battle to become the No. 2 quarterback for the Eagles behind reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts seems to just be getting started.
Bleacher Report’s Mo Moton put the “Panic Meter” for the Eagles at his lowest ranking of 1 headed into 2025, and projects Thompson-Robinson will become the backup over McKee.
“Hurts and Thompson-Robinson have similar skill sets, so the move makes sense from Philadelphia’s perspective,” Moton wrote. “McKee impressed in his lone career start, throwing for 323 yards and four touchdowns against the New York Giants in Week 18 last season. The Eagles have a star quarterback, a backup who can mimic some of their starter’s abilities and an intriguing developmental passer.”
McKee Turned Heads With Late-Season Performance
When Hurts went down with a concussion in the first quarter of a Week 16 loss to the Washington Commanders, Pickett filled in until he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury and McKee finished the game.
Pickett started a 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 but had to leave in the third quarter with another rib injury. McKee, 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds, went 3-of-4 passing for 54 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions to close out the game.
McKee started the regular season finale against the Giants — a meaningless game where the majority of the Eagles’ starters sat — and led his team to a 20-13 win by going 27-of-41 passing for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Eagles selected McKee in the sixth round (No. 188 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.
Thompson-Robinson made 48 starts in 5 seasons at UCLA and was a 2-time All-Pac-12 selection before the Browns drafted him in the fifth round (No. 140 overall) in 2023.
In 5 starts over the last 2 seasons, Thompson-Robinson went 1-4 and didn’t look like a competent NFL quarterback. He threw for 880 yards, 1 touchdown and a stunning 10 interceptions while completing just 52.6 percent of his passes. He did show some effectiveness running the ball with 35 carries for 187 yards and no touchdowns for an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
In a strange twist, Thompson-Robinson’s one win as a starter came against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11 of the 2023 season, with Pickett as the Steelers’ starting quarterback.
Another Option for Eagles: Draft Backup Quarterback
Thompson-Robinson and McKee are both negligible financial investments — they’re scheduled to make a combined $2.1 million in 2025. That means the Eagles might be able to take a flyer on a quarterback in the middle to late rounds.
One player who might be too good to pass up in the fourth round and beyond would be Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, a player who was once projected as a first round pick.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put Milroe at the top of his list of players dropping on draft boards on March 14.
“Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is who he is: a tremendous athlete with immense upside who needs significant development with his footwork and accuracy,” Sobleski wrote. “His issues weren’t going to be solved in one offseason, particularly while the 22-year-old works his way through the arduous predraft process.”
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