Dorian Thompson-Robinson wants to learn from Jalen Hurts but he also wants to compete with him.
On and off the field.
Thompson-Robinson, who joined the Eagles from the Browns earlier this week as a part of the return from the Kenny Pickett trade, said he has crossed paths with Jalen Hurts before. Thompson-Robinson explained that Hurts has worked with his chess mentor Seth Makowsky.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“So we have a little bit of familiarity there,” Thompson-Robinson said on a virtual introductory press conference Thursday. “I’ll have to ask him about chess when I get into the room and if he wants to play a couple games too.”
Coincidentally, it was former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly who introduced Thompson-Robinson to chess when they were at UCLA together. Thompson-Robinson said he used to play daily in college and now he’ll play once or twice every other day.
Thompson-Robinson isn’t the only quarterback to work with Makowsky and in a 2020 profile, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman called Makowsky “a confidant and the most unique QB guru in football.” Thompson-Robinson sees the benefit of chess when he steps on the football field.
“So much of this position is about decision making and so I think that’s really all chess is,” Thompson-Robinson said. “It’s just a board just to make decisions on. Every decision means something. You have to be consistent in that. I think that’s really how it helps playing quarterback and really all positions. It’s just being able to take that same mentality and mindset into the game and know that you have to be locked in for a full four quarters.”
NFL
Aside from challenging Hurts to a chess match or two, Thompson-Robinson is eager to learn from the Eagles’ starting quarterback. After a couple of tumultuous years in Cleveland, which included being forced into action with shaky results, Thompson-Robinson is excited about his fresh start in Philly.
And the former fifth-round pick out of UCLA is especially eager to learn from Hurts.
“This is a new organization, a new culture, a new playbook, new staff for me in total,” Thompson-Robinson said. “Really leaning on him with any questions I have. No question is too small or too big. Just kind of being a sponge that way. When we’re out at the practice field, that’s easy with watching how he works and in the weight room and stuff like that. But in terms of just the intangibles and how he really leads this team and gets everybody rallied behind him is something I think I’ll really be paying close attention to.”
Hurts, 26, will enter his sixth NFL season in 2025 and is already a two-time Pro Bowler with a 46-20 regular season record and a Super Bowl MVP under his belt.
Thompson-Robinson said it was Hurts’ performance at Oklahoma, after going through some tough times at Alabama, that really sticks out to him. He has been a fan of Hurts for a while.
“I think everybody just raves about how professional he is, both on and off the field at such a young age,” DTR said. “And so really just getting to see that approach every day. Again, support him and compete with him in any way I can. That’s only going to make me better as well as the rest of the room. But I’ve been a fan and admiring Jalen for quite some time now.”
In addition to Hurts, Thompson-Robinson also knows incumbent backup Tanner McKee because they were in the same recruiting class out of high school and then they faced each other in the Pac-12. While Pickett served as the Eagles’ backup in 2024, McKee really impressed when he got his opportunity and most expect him to be the No. 2 behind Hurts in 2025.
But Thompson-Robinson will get a chance to compete in the spring and in training camp.
In his two years with the Browns, Thompson-Robinson played in 15 games with 5 starts. He had a 1-4 record, completed just 52.6% of his passes and had 1 touchdown to 10 interceptions. But it’s also hard to fault him too much. The circumstances around him weren’t great and it’s possible Thompson-Robinson just got thrown into the fire too soon.
The Eagles view DTR as a player worth developing. And that goes back to the pre-draft process in 2023 when the team had him visit the NovaCare Complex on a 30 visit. Thompson-Robinson said that was a great visit and the Eagles were one of his favorite teams that spring.
Now, he’s getting a chance to be developed in Philly, while learning from a quarterback he has admired for a long time.
Off the field, he will also get a few chess matches in too. But Hurts — and anyone else who gets challenged — might want to brush up.
“ I am pretty good, though, I will say,” Thompson-Robinson boasted. “I am pretty good if anybody wants to get a match in. I’ll get you guys my Chess.com account.”
Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Simplecast | RSS | Watch on YouTube