The easy takeaway is the wrong one. Yes, Cole Payton is athletic. Yes, he can run. Yes, there are highlight-reel plays where he looks like the best player on the field. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said the same thing, but if you listen closely, that’s not the part that matters most.
At the time of this story’s creation and release, the Eagles hadn’t even started rookie minicamp yet. Still, imaginative football fans have daydreamed about everything from preseason games to what Payton might look like in some sort of Taysom Hill role. After his selection and the official introduction of Philadelphia’s eight-man draft class, Coach Sirianni’s words about the young gunslinger during a post-draft press conference still ring true.
“(He’s) really, really athletic. (He’s) really good with the ball in his hands in the QB run game. Makes great decisions with the football, accurate passer, 72%t last year as a starter. You can’t do that unless you make some good throws and go to the right place with the ball. But, there are some ‘wow’ plays on his tape that are really impressive. I think I charted 4 times where he jumped over somebody or wrote down a bunch of times, ‘He’s the best athlete on the field.’ Big, strong. Really excited about him.”
There’s a lot in that quote, and none of it sounds like a gimmick. Let’s dig deeper.
The two-time FCS national champion was the 178th player taken in the recent 2026 NFL Draft, a fifth-round pick. He earned Second-Team All-MVFC honors in 2025.
A familiar philosophy and the real takeaway
Payton probably won’t take any extended snaps at quarterback this season. If he does, something has certainly gone haywire. Still, he’s an intriguing prospect, certainly the most interesting that Philadelphia has taken from the North Dakota State Bison program since… well… that time they selected the last one. Make no mistake, though. The Eagles didn’t draft Payton because he can jump over defenders. They drafted him because he processes. Completion percentage doesn’t lie at that level. Decision-making doesn’t show up in viral clips, but it shows up in consistency.
For a quarterback, that’s the currency that matters most. Sure, the “wow” plays get attention, but the routine plays earn trust. Cole Payton also stacked those in abundance. It’s a familiar philosophy. Philadelphia’s approach to quarterbacks has been consistent for years. They don’t wait for need. They don’t draft out of desperation. They stack traits, develop talent, and trust their infrastructure to figure out the rest later. Payton fits their mold perfectly.
He isn’t being asked to carry anything right now. With Jalen Hurts firmly in place, the pressure is off. That creates space for growth, the kind that turns traits into reliability. The traits give Philadelphia another weapon if they so choose. This pick isn’t about the quarterback position. Perhaps it gives the Eagles their version of Taysom Hill. Perhaps this is about what comes after.
More importantly, it’s about how the Eagles view the position. They saw a player who checks boxes that matter: accuracy, decision-making, toughness. Once again, they have done what they have done for generations. They have paired that with rare athletic ability. That’s not a gadget. That’s a foundation. That’s a cornerstone, so simply put, if Sirianni’s evaluation proves right, this won’t be remembered as a “fun” Day 3 pick. It’ll be remembered as another of the smart and forward-thinking decisions made by a forward-thinking franchise.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Nick Sirianni’s comments reveal why Eagles were sold on Cole Payton