Eagles Draft QB Jalen Hurts

The Eagles (ahem) selected quarterback Jalen Hurts with the No. 53 overall pick. Few could have predicted that the Eagles would use significant draft capital on the QB position, but they apparently see him as a potential heir to Carson Wentz.

To say it’s a shocking pick would be a pretty big understatement. Wentz has been injury-prone during his time in the pros, and it’s possible the Eagles just wanted a reliable backup the next time Wentz has to miss games. Regardless of their reasoning, this is going to cause some waves in Philly. Hurts had a very unique and decorated college career, leading Alabama to a national championship before transferring and becoming a Heisman finalist at Oklahoma.

Originally not regarded as an elite pro prospect, Hurts became a late riser after putting up gaudy numbers under Lincoln Riley with the Sooners. After Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, he’s now the third straight Oklahoma passer to be drafted early. Wentz tore an ACL and LCL in 2017, then missed significant time with a back issue in 2018.

He started all 16 regular season games last year, but was knocked out of the Eagles’ playoff loss to Seattle early on. Hurts showed well at the combine, and did enough to thrust himself firmly into Day 2. Last week we heard the Packers and Chargers were interested, both teams that ended up drafting signal-callers in the first-round.

Hurts averaged a ridiculous 11.3 yards per attempt last year, tossing 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. A dynamic threat with his legs as well, he also added 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Howie Roseman had in mind with this pick, but it’ll be very interesting to see how it all plays out. Wentz is under contract through 2024 after signing a four-year, $128MM extension last offseason.

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