Baltimore Ravens Taking Jalen Hurts In 2020 NFL Draft?
Are the Baltimore Ravens taking Jalen Hurts in the 2020 NFL Draft? After his impressive 40-yard dash, it is starting to look that way.
Hurts is one of the more intriguing prospects trying out for his attempt to play in the NFL this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Between his stints at Alabama and Oklahoma he repeatedly proved several things.
First and foremost, teammates and coaches love him. He possesses all of the leadership characteristics and intangibles you look for in the person you are entrusting your offense to.
Secondly, he lacks some of the raw abilities you look for in a pro quarterback. He has certain things going for him like his athleticism, but as a passer, he is weaker than his counterparts.
As a result, there has been a ton of speculation as to where Hurts would ultimately end up getting selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
On Thursday, quarterbacks went through their workouts and ran the 40-yard dash. While people were not necessarily expecting that Hurts would do a poor job, nobody expected him to do as well as he ultimately did.
When it was all said and done, Hurts ran a 4.59 40.
Beyond that, Hurts was measured at six-foot-one and 222 pounds. His hands are 9 ¾-inches and his arms are 31 ¾ inches. His vertical jump was the fourth-best in his group at 35 inches, and he tied with Kelly Bryant for best broad jump with 125 inches.
Hurts opted not to participate in the bench press, three cone drill or shuttle drills.
One of the most notable other things Hurts did at the Combine was remind one and all that he had no interest in switching to a different position.
While he is not necessarily fully closing the door to a Taysom Hill-type role, clearly Hurts sees himself as more of a traditional quarterback option.
According to multiple football insiders, Hurts had an overall strong showing at the Combine.
Jalen Hurts seems to have helped himself with his performance at the combine yesterday.
“Really strong day,” one scout told me. “One of the most athletic QBs here. Good arm. Just needs to work on touch. Can see he’s a leader the way guys respond to him.”https://t.co/FdNebh13cu
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 28, 2020
“Really strong day,” one told reporter told Matt Zenitz.
“One of the most athletic quarterbacks here. Good arm. Just needs to work on touch. Can see he’s a leader the way guys respond to him.”
Another scout suggested that the Ravens would take him to serve as Lamar Jackson’s backup in Baltimore.
“Jalen ran well,” another scout said.
“Has always had power through his hips and thighs, so the 4.6 was not a surprise. Still a thrower more than a passer, but did OK in the on-field drills.
“There are enough teams now willing to have a dual-threat package QB on their roster, so he will definitely be drafted, probably third-to-fifth (round). Most feel like his rights already belong to Baltimore as a backup to Lamar (Jackson).”
All in all, there are much worse situations to land in as a rookie than serving as the backup to reigning league MVP.
If Hurts does end up with the Ravens and takes the opportunity to learn from Jackson, he could end up having a pretty solid NFL career of his own.
Related: Indianapolis Colts Respond To Tom Brady Signing
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
