Jalen Hurts NFL Draft Destinations
By Michael Luciano
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts is one of the biggest enigmas in the 2020 draft. On one hand, he put up insanely gaudy production at Oklahoma during his last college season and is a tremendous playmaker, but he is a smaller quarterback without tremendous arm talent that struggled at the Senior Bowl. He's probably looking at a third-to-fifth round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, and these three franchises would be ideal landing spots.
4. Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden appears to be tiring of Derek Carr as his quarterback, and he could look for an injection of young blood into his QB room. Hurts is not the type of guy who will wrestle the starting job away from Carr, but he could be enough to make some show-stopping plays and at least light a fire under Carr as the Raiders search for clarity at quarterback.
3. Tennessee Titans
Even if the Titans manage to bring Ryan Tannehill back on a brand new contract, the expected departure of Marcus Mariota means that Tennessee could look to add another arm in their quarterback room. Both Tannehill and Mariota's mobility were taken advantage of in Arthur Smith's offense, and going to a scheme that values quarterbacks who can use their legs to make plays would be ideal for Hurts.
2. Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule saw Hurts cook his Baylor Bears not once, but twice last season, and the new Carolina Panthers head coach could look to bring him as either a backup for Cam Newton or one of the many arms who will compete for the starting job. Joe Brady's genius was on display at LSU last year, as he adapted their offense to fit a quarterback like Joe Burrow who is more than comfortable with using his legs to make plays, and that could help Hurts make the transition to the NFL.
1. Chicago Bears
This is the best chance Hurts has of earning a starting job in the shortest amount of time. The Bears aren't exactly going to commit to Mitch Trubisky long-term, and Hurts would be an immediate upgrade over current backup Chase Daniel. Unless Trubisky is able to dig deep and suddenly turn into Patrick Mahomes (author's note: this will not happen), Hurts would at least have a clear avenue to a starting spot in Year 1.