Eagles Draft Cole Payton: Dual-Threat QB

0:00On April 25th, Philadelphia Eagles already got Jalen Hertz with Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee as backups, but they still snagged another quarterback in. The 2026 draft, they used their fifth round pick, number 1-78 overall, on Cole Payton from North Dakota, state. He's the sixth quarterback taken so far this year. Team saw Payton as a possible tight-in convert before last season, but now he's drawing take some hill comparisons as a dual-threat playmaker. Here this week, the Eagles added him without spilling details on his role. Payton's college path was all about patience. He lost the starting gig as a freshman and backed up for four years, popping off 23 touchdowns. In limited action. Then, in 2025, he finally took the reins. In 13 career starts that year, he lit it up, completing 72% of passes for 2,719 yards, 16 touchdowns, and just four picks. He added 777 rushing yards and 13 scores on 136 carries.

1:02Payton smashed school records with 268.9 total offense yards per game and 9.71 yards per play before A. Thumb injury sidelined him. Eagles fans are buzzing about how they'll mix this versatile arm into the mix. That's your update from NFL News today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story.