Last time out I shared my thoughts on Dan Pompei’s excellent piece on the process behind the drafting of Jalen Hurts. You can read that here. Someone asked me for my thoughts on Hurts as a prospect.
I had a second round grade on Hurts. I thought he had a chance to be a good backup QB and had the potential to develop into a starter. He wasn’t a polished passer and didn’t have a great arm. I thought his mobility would allow him to make plays, which can be important for backup QBs. If you haven’t practiced with the starters, coming in and being able to create with your legs can make a big difference.
Hurts had made a big jump as a passer when he went from Bama to OU. I thought pro coaching could help him to keep improving, but figured it would take some time. Still, the Air Raid offense can give QBs a lot of open receivers and make them look better than they are. That made me think it might take a few years. I saw Hurts as a project, but really valued his playmaking, intangibles and potential.
He showed good accuracy and touch on downfield throws. That translates to any offense. He needed to work on fundamentals and decison-making. That would improve his timing and accuracy, critical skills for a good NFL QB.
I did not think the Eagles would take Hurts for a couple of reasons. I thought he would go late second or early third. I didn’t see them investing in a QB that early. I also didn’t see him as a good fit for the Eagles QB situation. Hurts had starting potential. With Carson Wentz signed to a long term deal, I figured the Eagles would go for more of a pure backup.
I thought Hurts made sense for a team with a solid starting QB who had some age. Think of someone like the Lions and Jared Goff today. Goff has proven he can be a solid starter, but he’s not the long term answer there. Hurts gets picked and sits for a few years while honing his passing skills. The coaches could then see if he was worth putting in as the starter.
Luckily the Eagles played the situation just right. They didn’t mind spending pick 53 on a QB. Wentz had been hurt in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Worse, the injuries kept him out of the 2017 postseason entirely and limited to just a couple of snaps in 2019. The franchise simply couldn’t count on him to stay healthy all year long. They made the right call in taking Hurts at 53. I was critical of the pick, saying I loved the player, but thought that was too early for a QB. Give Howie all the credit in the world for taking Hurts.
I also think we have to give Doug Pederson a lot of credit. He signed off on the move and tried to get everyone on board with it. Pederson liked Hurts and helped to develop him in a timely fashion. He used Hurts as a rookie in creative looks. The results were mixed, but kudos to Doug for trying to get the most out of a talented athlete. That offense needed all the help it could get.
Hurts became a much better player than I ever would have guessed. There wasn’t an NFL player who was a great comp for him. He reminded you a bit of Russell Wilson. Hurts wasn’t as good a passer, but was a more dynamic runner. I just didn’t think Hurts had this kind of ceiling. Think about the way people talk about him.
Fun debate: Who’s the second best QB in the NFC right now behind Jalen Hurts?
A ton of candidates. This debate lasted for a long time today and I wanted to share the question here.
One thing I didn’t count on is how Hurts would come to the NFL at a time when his full skill set would be embraced. If you put him on another team, he wouldn’t be the same player. Nick Sirianni and his staff know how to use Hurts for maximum effectiveness. It is crazy to see what a great fit Hurts is for this offense and this staff. They aren’t scared to take advantage of his legs. Check out what Lane Johnson said.
“He’s a unique player,” Johnson said. “I’ve had the ability to play with some mobile quarterbacks, from (Michael) Vick, you know Carson (Wentz) was able to do some things with his legs, and Jalen. Just having that guy that really gets into the minds of the defense. Gets into the linebacker’s head, it affects coverages. It really changes a lot of the things for the game. And so, I feel like for offensive linemen, it does make it easier. It makes it really tough for defenders to be right.”
We talk about Hurts running and passing all the time. The other key is decision-making. Option plays work well when a QB is making smart decisions and then executing them well. Hurts does both.
Arm, legs and brains. That’s proving to be a lethal combination for Hurts and the Eagles offense.
Jalen Hurts is a fascinating football player. He played for two of the elite college programs, Alabama and Oklahoma. He played for national titles and almost won the Heisman Trophy. He did amazing things in college.
The minute he went from college player to pro prospect, Hurts became somewhat of an underdog. He wasn’t special physically. He got benched at Alabama. Hurts also wasn’t a top flight passer. He did have good potential and great intangibles. That was enough to convince the Eagles to spend a second round pick on him and the rest is history.
I liked these comments from former Eagles personnel executive Ian Cunningham.
Among the Eagles evaluators who saw Hurts play in person that year were Southwest scout Shawn Heinlen and assistant director of scouting Alan Wolking. His ability to make plays with his feet appealed to an organization whose appreciation of mobile quarterbacks was increasing.
“When you look at where the quarterback position was going, with these multidimensional talents who could create plays with their arms, their legs and their minds, we were trying to predict where we were going with the position,” Roseman says. “Carson had that ability, too.”
Then-Ravens area scout Ian Cunningham also saw Hurts in person during his freshman season, including at the national championship. One quality stood out.
“He was always cool, calm and collected no matter what, even in the national championship game as a true freshman,” says Cunningham, who became the Eagles’ director of college scouting in 2017. “He always had this poise and even-keeled demeanor.”
And
NFL evaluators still were concerned with Hurts’ accuracy, and Cunningham acknowledges it was a question. “It wasn’t always there, but he did show the ability to anticipate when it was clean,” Cunningham says. “That helped me feel more comfortable because I think you can develop accuracy. The inaccuracy was attributable to a lot of lower body (issues) — a wider base, inconsistent footwork, those types of things.”
“(Hurts) was a polarizing figure in the sense that some people liked him, some saw him as a developmental quarterback and some thought he was a backup,” Cunningham says. “I thought he was a developmental quarterback that had upside.”
I think Cunningham and I saw the same thing.
Great intangibles
Good athlete
Potential as a passer
The passing part was complicated. Hurts posted good numbers at OU, but was playing in the Air Raid. That offense can have easier reads. At Bama, Hurts played in more of a pro system, but was an inconsistent passer. That’s why he lost the QB job to Tua Tagovailoa.
Hurts did improve as a passer at OU, scheme aside. He put great touch on intermediate and downfield throws. He showed solid arm strength. As simple as this sounds, I thought he looked more confident and comfortable. Lincoln Riley is a great offensive coach and he brought out the best in Hurts.
The Eagles saw enough to think Hurts was worth taking a chance on.
…“We spent a lot more time on Jalen,” Roseman says. “Jalen was one of those guys throughout the fall that we liked.”
The Eagles weren’t sure how other teams rated Hurts. They believed it was possible that no one else would take him in the first two rounds. But taking a gamble that he would fall to the end of the third round — Philadelphia traded its original third-round pick for Darius Slay but still had a comp pick — was ruled out.
“We had learned from that situation with Russell when we try to get cute with quarterbacks that we like,” Roseman says. “You can never get hurt drafting quarterbacks. There’s nothing more important.”
In 2007, the Eagles had taken Kolb in the second round, then were able to trade him to the Cardinals for a second-round pick and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Even if Hurts never displaced Wentz, he could bring value to the organization.
“I’m sure some teams had him in the third or fourth round,” Pederson says. “Maybe we were the higher team on him than others. We felt comfortable enough to take him in the second. In this business, you know when you have a good player and you don’t need a whole lot of convincing. He was that guy for us.”
I’m glad the organization learned its lesson from the Wilson scenario in 2012. If you like a QB, go get him. Do not play the waiting game.
You can really see how this was an organizational pick. The scouts did a good job before Hurts senior year in gathering background info. The scouts did a good job of writing reports on what they saw in 2019 at OU. Howie Roseman made sure to involve Doug Pederson and the coaches as much as possible since this was a tricky situation. The Eagles wanted to draft a talented QB to develop, but already had Carson Wentz in place. Howie wanted everyone on the same page. Pederson got on the Hurts bandwagon and did his part. Jeff Lurie gave his support to the pick. All of the key people were on board.
Not Wentz, of course. His frustration may have done the Eagles a huge favor. When your franchise QB is bothered by you spending pick 53 on a QB, I think you know he’s not meant to be your franchise QB. If you can’t handle a rookie behind you, how are you going to play well in a big game against championship competition?
The entire piece is really good. Make sure you go read it.