Philadelphia Eagles Pick Jalen Hurts as 53rd Overall Pick

Jalen Hurts is heading for Philadelphia following the second night of the draft. The Eagles picked the Oklahoma Sooners’ quarterback as the 53rd overall pick, and he is about to join Carson Wentz, becoming a serious threat for Philly’s starting QB.

This decision of the Eagles’ management comes as a big surprise for the majority of fans, as just a few saw them picking a high-caliber quarterback at this draft.

On the other side, there weren’t too many people who expected to see Hurts falling this low, which was arguably one of the reasons why Philly decided to pick him up, and if nothing else, use him as an asset in some future trade. Still, if you look a bit better, Doug Pedersen is aware that he needs a good QB on the bench, even though he has Wentz on the field.

The second pick from the 2016 NFL Draft has constant injury problems. In 2017, he was one of the best players in the league, leading the Eagles to an 11-2 record before picking up a season-ending injury. Nick Foles jumped in instead of him and led the team to the Super Bowl trophy, the first-ever after the AFL-NFL merger.

There was a similar scenario during the next season, with Wentz again having to sit out after an injury in the late part of the campaign.

So, after all these problems, it seems that the management of the team wants to have a proper backup for a guy who signed a four-year $128 million deal at the start of the previous campaign.

As for Hurts, he knows how to jump in and lead the team to the title. And he knows both ends of that story. During 2017, he was the starting QB of the Alabama Crimson Tide who posted a 13-1 record during the regular part of the season, and reaching to the CFP finals, where they met with Georgia Bulldogs. Hurts was benched at the halftime, with Tua Tagovailoa replacing him at the halftime and leading Crimson Tide to the title.

The Eagles took Jalen Hurts with the 53rd pick.

In 2019, Hurts became the 4th player in FBS history with 30 pass TD and 20 rush TD in a season, joining Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton and Tim Tebow.

Two won an NFL MVP and all three players were drafted in the 1st round. pic.twitter.com/orV6SfAN3m

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 25, 2020

The next year, things changed. Tagovailoa was the starter, and this time he guided the team to the SEC Championship Game. He picked up an injury, and this time Hurts came to turn the result upside down and defeat the Bulldogs once again.

He spent his last year with the Sooners, after deciding to transfer. It turned out to be a very clever move, as he had an excellent season, recording 3,851 yards, 32 passing TD, 1,298 rushing yards and 20 TDs on the ground. With these stats, Hurts became the fourth player in FBS history with 30+ pass TDs and 20+ rush TDs during one campaign. Three guys before him were Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, and Tim Tebow. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Joe Burrow.

Apart from being a backup to Wentz, some scouts say that Hurts could easily be used as a wide receiver, and profile himself as a versatile player, similar to Taysom Hill from the Saints.

Anyhow, his landing in Pennsylvania created a lot of hype. Wentz congratulated him on Twitter with a welcome message. An interesting period is ahead of the Eagles, and no doubt, all the attention will be pointed towards these two guys and their relationship.