The Philadelphia Eagles stunned everyone when they used the 53rd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Jalen Hurts out of Oklahoma.
The surprising pick prompted many to wonder if the Eagles see Hurts as a Taysom Hill-type gadget player. After all, Carson Wentz landed a monster contract extension recently and is widely considered to be one of the NFL’s most promising young stars.
Responding to all that on Saturday morning, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report made it clear that “the Eagles don’t see Jalen Hurts as a gadget QB.” He noted that Hurts might end up being used in that capacity early on, but finished by writing “they see him as a potential star QB who can step in for Wentz if/when he goes down.”
To Freeman’s point, Wentz already has a history of injuries in the NFL, so it makes sense to bring in a talented young rookie — just in case.
This meshes well with what Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said of Hurts on Friday night. He did note that Hurts has the type of skill set to do some of the same things Hill does for New Orleans but stressed his skill as a pure passer.
During his collegiate playing days at Alabama and Oklahoma, Hurts proved he is a dynamic dual-threat quarterback who can make big plays in the passing game. In four seasons, he passed for 9,477 yards (averaging 9.1 yards per attempt) with 80 touchdowns and just 20 interceptions.