Eagles stun on Day 2, draft Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday, a stunning move considering that they’ve built their offense around four-year NFL veteran Carson Wentz.
The decision with the No. 53 pick begs the immediate question: What is Hurts’ role with the Eagles?
What does Hurts bring to the Eagles?
A Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019 with the Sooners, Hurts had an outstanding four-year college career. He spent three seasons at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma last season after Tua Tagovailoa transplanted him as the starter in Tuscaloosa.
A dynamic athlete and dual-threat quarterback, Hurts threw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior while tallying 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground on 5.6 yards per carry.
What is Hurts’ role with the Eagles?
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is known for his creative, gadget plays. Did he just spend a second-round pick to use Hurts as a gadget player?
Wentz is a former No. 2 overall pick by the Eagles and signed a four-year, $128 million contract extension last offseason. Unless the Eagles have even more shocking news to share, he’s entrenched as their starting quarterback.
Wentz has suffered his fair share of injuries since joining the Eagles, including famously missing their playoff run and Super Bowl victory after the 2017 season with a knee injury. Establishing a talented backup quarterback in Philadelphia makes sense.
Will Pederson — one of the game’s most creative offensive minds — find a way to incorporate Hurts’ dynamic skillset into the Eagles offense in the meantime enough to justify the high price tag?
Eagles have plenty of needs
The Eagles have numerous roster needs, including continuing to improve a depleted wide receiver corps after drafting TCU’s Jalen Reagor in the first round on Thursday.
This is going to be one of the more fascinating stories of the 2020 draft to watch play out.
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