Jalen Hurts is lighting defenses on fire for Oklahoma but what does his 2020 NFL Draft future hold? Let’s determine his outlook for the NFL.
The 2020 NFL Draft was always going to be the year of the quarterback. With Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert headlining a strong class at the position, the draft focus was always going to be on the signal-callers. However, what we didn’t expect was the highly touted quarterback class getting stronger but that has been the case with the emergence of Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow.
Out of LSU, Burrow has emerged as a potential Heisman Trophy winner this season and looking like a viable NFL quarterback. While his rise has been undeniable, it’s not as surprising as the upward trend of Hurts.
Coming into this season, Jalen Hurts was restarting his college football career as a graduate transfer from Alabama, where he lost the starting job to Tagovailoa, to the Oklahoma Sooners. Despite his SEC Championship heroics last year, though, many still viewed Hurts as a great athlete but limited passer that Lincoln Riley would have to cater his offense to.
Instead, Hurts has fit as seamlessly into the Oklahoma offense as his predecessors, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, did. Yes, he’s still proven to be a great athlete when taking off an running but he’s also shown a monumental improvement as a passer, putting up gaudy numbers and looking the part of a legitimate NFL quarterback prospect.
But how high has the 2020 NFL Draft stock of Jalen Hurts risen? Moreover, where could he end up being selected come April? As we enter Week 8 of the 2019 college football season, let’s evaluate the rise of the Oklahoma quarterback and see where he stands in the scope of the draft.