Philadelphia Eagles: Drafting Jalen Hurts is just so irresponsible

While Jalen Hurts is certainly a great player, the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to draft him 53rd overall just isn’t fair to Carson Wentz – or Jalen Hurts.

Welp, that was unexpected.

After watching a ton of quality, Day 1-worthy players slowly coming off the board, it looked like things were lining up for the Philadelphia Eagles to land a good one at 53 overall.

I mean, A.J. Epenesa, Denzel Mims, and Curtis Weaver were all still on the board: What could go wrong?

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

In the weirdest twist of fate, The Athletic’s Shams Charania broke the news that Howie Roseman and company had selected Jalen Hurts, wide rec…quarterback, Oklahoma.

What?

Now to be fair, the idea of adding a high-end backup quarterback capable of winning games in relief of Carson Wentz is nothing new. With Josh McCown gone and Nick Foles reunited with John DeFilippo in Chicago, the Eagles just can’t count on Nate Sudfeld to back up Wentz full-time, but going all-in in the second round on a quarterback some projected to be an early-career starter? That’s just crazy.

And to think, I wanted to swap a sixth-round pick for Wentz’s backup Easton Stick. My trade idea looks prudish now.

Now to be fair, Hurts is the kind of player people like to root for, and players like to rally around. By all accounts, he’s a fantastic leader, and an even better teammate, and the kind of mobile quarterback tailor-made for the modern game, but is that what the Eagles really need in 2020, a high-upside project?

Is sitting Hurts behind a 27-year-old quarterback on a $100 million deal really the best option for his development? Wouldn’t he be better suited on a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers with an older quarterback?

And Wentz, how can you not feel bad for that guy? There’s already a very real and very vocal anti-Wentz faction of the Eagles fan base eagerly waiting for him to fail. Can you imagine how loud that faction will be if Wentz falters even a little bit? The calls for Hurts would be deafening.

There’s no doubt about it, Hurts will be the most popular backup quarterback in the NFL in 2020, and that is not what you want behind a young, injury-prone franchise quarterback. Any time Wentz has an opportunity to put his body on the line for a first down, will losing his spot to Hurts be on the back of his mind? Will he become even more conservative out of a fear of getting Drew Bledsoe?

I’m all about deploying a Hurts package in games to optimize the ROP and run down the clock with a lead, but are four or five of those plays a game really worth a second-round pick? The Eagles could find a guard capable of starting for a decade in the third round, and yet they want to invest in a quarterback in the middle of the second? How is that a good value?

Taysom Hill was an undrafted free agent, just FYI.

Drafting Hurts is not fair to Wentz, to the fans, or to Hurts. This is a disaster waiting to happen not because Hurts isn’t a good player, but because he’s just too good to be a four-year backup.

Next. Jalen Reagor will forever be linked to Justin Jefferson. dark

When Howie Roseman drafted Jalen Reagor – another pick that wasn’t particularly popular, unless you’re me – he justified the pick because he could help to optimize Carson Wentz’s set of skills. Now how, may I ask, does Jalen Hurts fit into that strategy?

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