Jalen Hurts is a Philadelphia Eagle

Jalen Hurts is Philly-bound.

The former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback was the 53rd pick in the NFL Draft on Friday and will begin his professional football career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

After winning the Crimson Tide job as a true freshman out of Houston, Hurts was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. But he lost his starting job in the national championship game as a sophomore, and in 2018 was Tua Tagovailoa’s backup.

Hurts – who replaced the injured Tagovailoa in the SEC title game and saved the Tide’s season with two fourth-quarter touchdowns – gambled on himself and transferred to Oklahoma, where as a graduate transfer in 2019, he was the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Hurts’ gamble paid off Friday when the Eagles selected him with the 21 pick in the second round.

“Jalen had a great influence on our program in such a short amount of time,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “He had a really unparalleled journey through college football and we’re happy and feel thankful the last year of that journey was with us. He’s really progressed as a leader, a player and a technician, and I certainly think his best years are ahead of him.”

Carson Wentz is the Eagles’ incumbent starter. Last year, Wentz – the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft – signed a four-year, $128 million contract extension.

Given Wentz’ contract situation and his on-field success (he made the Pro Bowl in 2017, passed for a career-high 4,037 yards in 2019 and has 97 touchdown passes in four seasons), as well as Pederson’s reputation for offensive creativity, it seems likely that Hurts will be Wentz’ backup but also be implemented into the Eagles playbook as a multi-tool player who could contribute as a runner, thrower and even receiver.

Philadelphia’s other quarterbacks currently are Nate Sudfeld and Kyle Lauletta, so it seems Pederson is invested in having a capable backup behind the occasionally injured Wentz. Two years ago, it was Pederson’s Eagles who won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback (Nick Foles).

In this year’s rookie class, Hurts joins TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor, who was taken by the Eagles in Thursday’s first round.

Hurts also will play behind former Sooner offensive tackle Lane Johnson.

Hurts completed 65.1 of his passes at Alabama and Oklahoma, throwing for 9,477 yards and 80 touchdowns. He also ran 614 times for 3,274 yards and 43 scores.

In 42 career starts, Hurts posted a 38-4 record.

Statistically, Hurts took a backseat to no one during his one season in Norman. He led the nation in yards per pass attempt (11.3, nearly an all-time record) and ranked second in pass efficiency rating (191.2; the fourth-best number in OU history), yards per completion (16.3), points responsible for per game (22.9) and touchdowns accounted for (53).

He also ranked third nationally in total offense (367.8 ypg), sixth in completion percentage (.697; third best in school history), seventh in rushing touchdowns (20; second among quarterbacks), eighth in passing yards (3,851) and 11th in passing touchdowns (32). He averaged 275.1 passing yards and 92.7 rushing yards per contest.

He also set OU’s single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,298 (Jack Mildren’s mark of 1,289 was set in 1971) and tied Mildren’s record for rushing TDs by a QB (20).

Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner said on NFL Network Friday night that he was thoroughly impressed and “fascinated” by Hurts.

“He’s a winner. No matter where he’s been, no matter what you ask him to do, he just finds a way to win,” Warner said. “ … He reminds me of a guy like Russell Wilson. He may not be a polished passer right now, growing in that area, but he can make plays, he can buy time, he can do it with his legs, he can do it with his arm making big plays as he buys time out of the pocket. I’m fascinated by this pick and how they’re going to use him. Do they put in a package for him so they can get Carson Wentz off the field? Maybe a run package for him? It’s gonna be fascinating to see how they use him.”

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