Nicholas Morrow talks Nakobe Dean, defending Jalen Hurts, and more

Eagles OTAs are underway and one of the team’s newest linebackers, Nicholas Morrow, spoke to reporters on Thursday about how much they’ve already done this offseason, and how much they’ve focused on situational football — something head coach Nick Sirianni often talks about.

It’s still early, but Morrow said that at this point of the offseason, you can see how the team looks by the work the guys are putting in everyday. He highlighted how much situational football he’s learned in the 5-6 weeks he’s been in Philly.

“This is the most that I’ve learned situationally. Like, we really emphasize the situational awareness, and this is probably the most I’ve learned in my seven-year career.”

The linebacker went on to say that getting that kind of information when they’re installing things early on can help a lot. Then, when things really get going, they’ll know what to do and be prepared for those situations.

He later mentioned that they go over situational football during every team meeting, with one situation being discussed and any of the players could be asked a question about it. Morrow noted that everyone is expected to know what’s going on in the game.

Here’s what else the linebacker had to say:

On the LB room

Morrow talked about Nakobe Dean, and seeing him be explosive and strong in the weight room and smart in the meeting room.

“[Dean] knows his stuff. He knows what’s going on. He’s a good communicator. So, he’s doing a great job.”

He also confirmed that Dean is the main communicator on the field and has the green-dot helmet — the one communicating with the sideline.

Overall, Morrow said the linebacker room works really hard and competes.

On Jalen Hurts

Morrow talked about a particular play in which Hurts was able to throw the ball away from the defender and get it into the tight end’s hands.

“To be able to anticipate where the defense is coming from and put it in a tight window, I thought that was impressive. So, he’s been really good on that standpoint, and he’s also getting the ball out pretty fast — setting up and breaking, you gotta really be on your Ps and Qs if you’re in some type of vision break defense to understand where he is and his intentions.”

On OTA work

“I think the first thing you gotta do is learn the techniques, right? So, you may have played a similar coverage in another defense, but you don’t understand exactly the technique that they want you to use in that same defense. So learning the techniques and then actually going on the grass and doing it, and repping it, and having Coach kind of critique you on what you’re doing right and wrong, that’s always valuable.”