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Jalen Hurts Should Not Be Taken Seriously As A Potential Franchise Quarterback
The common fan on most occasions doesn’t know how to scout. They think that the big name quarterback is usually all set to translate to the NFL. If someone posts a mock draft, I’ll click on it. I’m stunned by the number of people that have Jalen Hurts even in the third round range. To do what? Be Taysom Hill? Jalen Hurts is more of a gadget guy than a potential starting quarterback option. Jalen Hurts should not be taken seriously as a potential franchise quarterback.
The first problem with Hurts is his decision making. When things go off script, he’s down right bad. When Hurts tries to make plays throwing the ball outside of the pocket, he’s an erratic mess. We saw that in the Senior Bowl too. Hurts threw an ugly interception just looping the ball in the air instead of taking the sack.
The second problem and third problem with Hurts is his inability to stick in the pocket. Far too often, if the first guy isn’t there he flies out of the pocket looking to run. On the occasion that he sticks in the pocket, he hasn’t shown any ability to progress through reads and holds on to the ball far too long. I see an inability to diagnose coverages on his own.
This is a play we saw a lot from Hurts. First guy not open, I’ll take off and run. You won’t win that way in the NFL. He’s not able to process information fast enough in the passing game to look to other targets or at least can’t do it consistently.
The only reason why we’re talking about Hurts as even a draftable guy is because of Lincoln Riley. When Jalen Hurts was at Alabama, you had to close your eyes when he threw the ball. What we should do is compare Hurts to Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. They, of course, are the last 3 quarterbacks to play for Lincoln Riley.
Mayfield 2017: 70.5%, 11.5 YPA, 43 TD, 6 INT
Murray 2018: 69%, 11.6 YPA, 42 TD, 7 INT
Hurts 2019: 69.7%, 11.3 YPA, 32 TD, 8 INT
Hurts had more rushing attempts than both of them and fewer passing attempts. We get that part. However, I don’t think there’s any question that Hurts performed a hell of a lot worse than Mayfield or Murray did their final years at Oklahoma. Especially in Bowl games against SEC opponents. Oklahoma put up 48 against Georgia with Baker. OU put up 34 against Alabama with Murray. OU put up 28 against LSU this past year but were never in the game. Hurts threw for 217 yards and that game was over 2 minutes in.
Can we just be honest about Jalen Hurts thing? This is not an NFL franchise quarterback. He’s never going to be a refined quarterback pure passer. He couldn’t progress through reads in college. He’s not doing it in the NFL either. Hurts is the Trace McSorley of the draft. Fun gadget guy that maybe makes sense in gimmick packages that the Ravens run. Outside of that, you’re wasting your time. In what will be a deep 2020 NFL Draft for quarterbacks, Hurts’ name doesn’t belong anywhere in the top few rounds.
