Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Eagles pull off a stunner, select Hurts in 2nd round
After giving Carson Wentz a playmaker, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted his backup.
The Eagles selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, a stunning move for a team with more pressing needs.
Philadelphia hoped it filled a big void in the first round, taking TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick. But the team passed on other receivers and defensive players to add Hurts at No. 53.
“Quarterback is the most important position in sports,” Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said.
“We have shown how we feel about Carson by our actions, by the amount of picks we put into him, and we showed it by the contract extension. We believe this is the guy to lead us to our next Super Bowl championship. But for better or worse, we are quarterback developers. We want to be a quarterback factory.”
Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma and became a Heisman Trophy finalist last year when he threw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns. He’ll provide insurance for Wentz, who started 16 games last season and led the Eagles to the NFC East title but was knocked out of a wild-card playoff loss to Seattle with a concussion.
Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick in 2016, helped Philadelphia secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed in his sophomore season but tore two knee ligaments and watched Nick Foles lead the Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title. Wentz injured his back in 2018 and Foles stepped in again and led the team to a playoff win.
Roseman said he spoke with Wentz about picking Hurts earlier in the day. Wentz, who finished third in NFL MVP voting in 2017, signed a $137 million contract extension last season.
“We think Carson is a phenomenal player and nobody is going to be looking at a rookie quarterback taking over for a Pro Bowl quarterback who was on the cusp of being an MVP,” Roseman said.
Hurts, 6-1 and 218 pounds, led two elite programs to the College Football Playoff and put up big numbers both passing and rushing. His passing accuracy and consistency were the biggest questions entering the draft.
Hurts went 38-4 as a starter, including 26-2 for the Crimson Tide and was the SEC player of the year as a freshman. Then he was benched at halftime of the national championship game against Georgia, with Tua Tagovailoa leading the comeback victory and ultimately winning the starting job for the 2018 season.
“He has uncanny toughness, poise and competitiveness,” said Andy Weidl, the team’s vice president of player personnel. “He’s a natural leader. His starting record speaks for itself.”
Hurts is Oklahoma’s third quarterback drafted in three years. Oklahoma is the only program to ever produce quarterback selections in the first two rounds of the draft in three consecutive years — Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray went No. 1 overall each of the last two years. No school had ever produced quarterback picks in the first five rounds of the draft in three consecutive seasons.
Hurts had 9,477 yards passing and 80 TDs with a 65.1 completion percentage in his four-year career at Alabama and Oklahoma. He also rushed 614 times for 3,274 yards and 43 TDs.
Eagles Coach Doug Pederson said the team would explore ways to use him with Wentz and mentioned the way New Orleans features Taysom Hill.
The 5-10, 206-pound Reagor averaged 14.2 yards on 43 receptions and had 5 touchdowns last season. He also returned two punts for scores.
Reagor had 148 catches for 2,248 yards and 22 TDs in 39 college games.