Philadelphia Eagles select Jalen Hurts in second round
The Philadelphia Eagles looked to have made a big splash on Thursday evening during the opening round of the 2020 NFL Draft when they selected wide receiver Jalen Reagor out of TCU with the 21st overall pick. The selection made a lot of sense considering it helps the club fill a major hole with both Alshon Jeffery and Desean Jackson coming off injuries.
However, their second round selection in the draft on Friday evening sent shockwaves around the league. Philadelphia opted to take quarterback Jalen Hurts from Oklahoma with the 53rd overall pick.
Nobody anticipated the Eagles drafting a quarterback considering they had just given Carson Wentz a massive contract extension prior to last season. Wentz’s contract extension is worth a total of over $153m and keeps him in Philadelphia until the conclusion of the 2024 campaign. Wentz also holds several Eagles’ franchise records including most pass completions in a season (388), most passing touchdowns in a season (33) and is the first quarterback in team history to throw for over 4000 yards in a single season.
“Quarterback is the most important position in sports,” Eagles executive vice-president and general manager Howie Roseman said following Hurts’ selection. “We have shown how we feel about Carson by our actions, by the amount of picks we put into him, and we showed it by the contract extension. We believe this is the guy to lead us to our next Super Bowl championship. But for better or worse, we are quarterback developers. We want to be a quarterback factory.”
Hurts, 6ft 1ins and 218 lbs, had an impressive season last year with Oklahoma where he transferred from Alabama. The youngster was a Heisman Trophy finalist after putting up 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns. He becomes the school’s third quarterback selected in the past three years, making the program the only one in history to produce quarterbacks drafted in either of the first two rounds of the NFL Draft in three consecutive seasons.
While Hurts will find playing time difficult to come by in Philadelphia with Wentz still around, it does provide the 21-year-old with the opportunity to learn from an experienced veteran. A prospect that excited Hurts.
“The opportunity to go there, be part of the organization, it’s surreal,” Hurts after he was drafted by the Eagles. “It’s an opportunity to grow, learn and be best quarterback I can be. I’m ready to go to work. I’ve always been about the grind.”
Along with having a cannon for an arm, Hurts is also dangerous on his feet. During his four year career in the NCAA with Alabama and Oklahoma, the quarterback ran 614 times for a total of 3,274 yards and 43 TDs. His ability to be threat on the ground provides the Eagles’ offense with another option to scare opposing defenses and could see Hurts get on the field a few times early on in his NFL career.
Make no mistake about it, Wentz is still the starting quarterback in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. However, Hurts provides the franchise with a quality backup that has the capabilities and skillset to be a future starter in the league.
