The Philadelphia Eagles Made The Biggest Surprise Pick Of The 2020 NFL Draft

With the 53rd pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, The Philadelphia Eagles select…QB Jalen Hurts?!?!? What just happened?? Is a trade in the air?

QB Jalen Hurts From Oklahoma is a great QB1. I said it. I meant it. Here is the obvious dilemma…so is Eagles star QB Carson Wentz!! The Eagles also already have a talented backup QB2 in Nate Sudfeld who the team believes has starting potential in the NFL. While Jalen Hurts is certainly a great player who I thought would go late in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.. the pick poses a few issues for the team to figure out.

One thing is very obvious. The Eagles most certainly went best player available rather than a position of need with this pick. Where does Jalen Hurts fit? He doesn’t play CB or LB and I expected the Eagles to target one of those two positions with their second-round pick. Heck, CB Kristian Fulton who’s been linked to the Eagles for months was right there for the taking and could have started as a rookie opposite stud CB1 Darius “Big Play” Slay but they passed. LB Troy Dye was also available.

The Eagles don’t necessarily need a Linebacker as they only play two LBs while most teams start three, but a CB would have made a ton of sense at that spot. Then again GM Howie Roseman did recently state that CB Avonte Maddox (who is a talented player) will be the starter opposite Darius Slay. Howie must have a lot of faith in Avonte Maddox. This pick is good news for slot CB Cre’ von Leblanc…that’s for sure.

Is Jalen Hurts the heir apparent to a still very young franchise QB1 and top 5 NFL QB in Carson Wentz? Wentz does have an injury history…so there’s that…however, he was healthy all last season as he put The Philadelphia Eagles on his back to win the NFC East title this past season. Could Hurts be a gadget player as a rookie in the mold of New Orlean’s QB Tayson Hill while he develops?

I think that’s a real possibility and it would be fun to watch the ultra-athletic Jalen hurts run a good amount of trick plays as a rookie this season. There is one other possibility. The New England Patriots were heavily rumored to be interested in Jalen Hurts throughout the entire draft process. Some mock drafts even had the Patriots selecting the Heisman Trophy runner up, and college championship winner with their first-round pick.

I think that the patriots who have now gone three rounds without selecting a QB for a team that doesn’t have a starting-caliber QB on the roster after Tom Brady bolted for Tampa Bay in free agency were quite possibly targeting QB Jalen Hurts with their second second-round pick at no. 60 and unfortunately for them, The Eagles snatched up the ultra-talented playmaker at no. 53 just seven spots before the Patriots were due to be on the clock. Current Patriot QBs Jarret Stidham who’s a statue, and the way past his prime (if he ever had one) Brian Hoyer both most certainly are not the answer for New England.

I do believe that New England wanted Jalen badly and they just missed out on getting their QB of the future…for now…The Eagles are an intelligent organization and likely knew that the pats wanted to draft Jalen Hurts…now the Eagles have a ton of leverage if a trade were to happen. The Eagles at the least should be able to acquire the patriots 2021 first-round pick in exchange for QB Jalen Hurts. It is likely

that The Eagles could receive more if I am indeed correct…perhaps the pats 2021 first-round and third-round picks, or draft capital and a player in a trade to acquire the QB that they covet from the Eagles. The Eagles might just be able to fleece the Patriots if a trade does take place. Perhaps I’m wrong.

Perhaps the Eagles will move on from Carson Wentz after the 2022 NFL season and Jalen Hurts will take over much like Aaron Rodgers once did for Brett Farve. Only time will tell…that said I can tell you this: Patriots fans will be livid If Jarret Stidham is their opening day starter at QB. A trade with the Eagles just makes too much sense. Yes, The Eagles would most certainly win that trade, but it would be the smart move for both teams. I would actually…very selfishly I might add would like to see The Eagles keep Jalen Hurts and turn him into the next Taysom Hill (That would be fun to watch!!), and future starter (if Hurts has the patience to wait a few seasons as Aaron Rodgers did way back when.) for the team in midnight green.

While this pick was highly unexpected and will be the biggest surprise pick of the entire 2020 NFL Draft barring something ridiculous such as the Patriots using a pick on a third TE, (yes they drafted two TEs in rounds 2 and 3, instead of taking a QB lol) in their desperate effort to replace TE Rob Gronkowski aka Gronk, (News flash there is no replacing Gronk as he is a generational talent.) this was still a good pick. I like QB Nate Sudfeld, but Hurts is a huge upgrade at the position. Could QB Nate Sudfeld be on the trade block after the Eagles selected QB Jalen hurts? That’s a story for another time.

Side Note: The Philadelphia Eagles have pleased many of their fans by drafting LB Davion Taylor of the University of Colorado with their third-round pick. Many Eagles fans (myself included) wanted the Eagles to draft a LB in the second round and by drafting Taylor the Eagles got an absolute steal as many experts had Davion Taylor as a second-round pick. That will quell the anger of many Philadelphia Eagles fans who were scratching their heads for two hours after the Jalen Hurts pick. I think it’s a good pick albeit unexpected, but I am most definitely one of the few who approve of the selection of star QB Jalen Hurts. I think that LB Davion Taylor is the next Jordan Hicks and will start as a rookie. 

Update: The New England Patriots have gone THE ENTIRE DRAFT without selecting a Single QB making a trade with The Eagles more likely in my opinion. It has been reported dozens of times that QB Jalen Hurts was indeed Bill Belichick’s guy. The question is will a trade actually take place given Bill’s stubbornness? Is he willing to admit he was wrong and pony up a great amount of value to the Eagles in order to get the QB that he most likely wanted…or will he (I think this is most likely) refuse to admit he was wrong given his ego and break the hearts of Patriots fans everywhere by starting off the season with Jarret Stidham at QB? 

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