Jalen Hurts was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and Twitter exploded
By John Buhler
The Philadelphia Eagles drafted former Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round. Twitter obviously exploded.
There haven’t been all that many surprises in the 2020 NFL Draft through the first two rounds. Well, unless you’re counting whatever John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks are doing. But with the No. 53 overall pick in the second round, the Philadelphia Eagles set social media ablaze by drafting former Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts was an unbelievable college player, first with Alabama and then in his final year with Oklahoma. He reached the College Football Playoff all four years in school. Unless you played for the Clemson Tigers, nobody else can honestly say that the last four years. Hurts is a high-character guy and a player who absolutely want to route for.
However, Philadelphia is in Wentzylvania, as the Eagles are Carson Wentz‘s team. Then again, Philadelphia has always prioritized having a quality backup quarterback. Hurts would certainly be that to Wentz right away, possibly being used in a Taysom Hill role like the former BYU quarterback is used with the New Orleans Saints.
Here is how Twitter handled Hurts becoming the latest member of The Birds.
Mel Kiper says "Jalen Hurts is happy being a backup," which is exactly the opposite of the takeaway I had from Jalen Hurts' time as a backup. He hated being a backup so much that he completely changed his career arc
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) April 25, 2020
Mel kiper jalen hurts is a winner not a backup. Some guys just win everywhere they go.
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 25, 2020
Important to remember when comparing Jalen Hurts to Taysom Hill as passers is that only one of them can throw, and it ain't Hill.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 25, 2020
Also, only one of them plays QB, and it ain't Hill.
I believe in Jalen Hurts. I'm surprised Philly took him. Eagles must not trust Wentz's durability and they might want to use Jalen as an occasional runner/passer. He's capable of leading an NFL team to the playoffs as a starting QB.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 25, 2020
Let's go to a live look at Carson Wentz hearing that the Eagles picked Jalen Hurts: pic.twitter.com/ZnumH1Q4AW
— The Ringer (@ringer) April 25, 2020
Jalen Hurts and Carson Wentz discussing that time their backups came in for them and won championships. pic.twitter.com/p7JmNB0D9j
— Kyle, a Madson (@KyleAMadson) April 25, 2020
Philly fans... Jalen Hurts... Let’s hear it
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 25, 2020
Norman to Philly! Let's run it back @JalenHurts 💪 #boomer #flyeaglesfly
— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) April 25, 2020
Carson Wentz when he sees Jalen Hurts coming onto the field to play the “Taysom Hill role” https://t.co/Smo5s1abuz
— Jonny Heller (@JonnyHeller) April 25, 2020
The Eagles took Jalen Hurts with Carson freakin Wentz on the roster and people were telling me the Bears couldn’t take him because they have Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky... SMH
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) April 25, 2020
Jalen Hurts when the Eagles ask him to do some receiver drills pic.twitter.com/VHudnsIz1s
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 25, 2020
The two people in the world that bet Jalen Hurts to Philly 😂 pic.twitter.com/dQlkhRHmpb
— br_betting (@br_betting) April 25, 2020
Congrats @JalenHurts‼️ Your @NFL dream is a reality#NFLDraft #OUDNA
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) April 25, 2020
📺 #NFLDraft on ABC, @espn & @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/Se3aacveiU
Eagles fans you ok? pic.twitter.com/tAuI2PKzBw
— FanSided (@FanSided) April 25, 2020
Clearly, there is a lot to digest here. Seemingly everyone approves of Hurts as a football player and as a person. Of course, some people hate the idea of him being used as a glorified gadget player like Hill is with the Saints. The guy is a quarterback and won more in college than just about anyone.
As for Wentz, yes, he might feel some pressure from this selection, but not a ton. Wentz did have a former Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl MVP back him up for a few years in Nick Foles. While Wentz is the more talented quarterback, it was Foles who has won all the playoff games of the Doug Pederson era in Philadelphia.
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What might even be more awkward is his starting right tackle Lane Johnson immediately gave praise to the Eagles’ second-round draft pick, mostly because of Boomer Sooner. You can’t really blame him for seeing a guy from his alma mater join the ranks. The only question is how does Wentz feel about it. It’ll be odd, but that’s just part of the Philadelphia quarterbacking experience.