One of the most surprising moves of the 2020 NFL Draft was when the Philadelphia Eagles selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with the 53rd overall pick.
Where Hurts was selected -- the middle of the second round -- was not shocking, as the passer was expected to come off the board around that time. Rather, it was the fact that Philly was the team to draft Hurts, especially with Carson Wentz just 27 years old and under contract for five more seasons.
In a recent interview with the Redskins Talk podcast, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro expressed his opinion on the Eagles' selection, and it wasn't a fond one.
"The Jalen Hurts thing was strange," he said. "To get my opinion out there, I think it was a stupid pick."
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The thinking behind the selection is simple: the Eagles wanted an upgrade at backup quarterback. Whether it's fair or not, Wentz has developed the reputation of being an injury-prone player, even though he's missed just eight regular-season games over his four-year career.
Wentz played all 16 games for the Eagles in 2019, just the second time he's played a full season. During Philadelphia's Wild Card matchup with the Seahawks, Wentz was forced to leave early with a concussion and would not return. Additionally, both his 2017 and 2018 seasons ended with trips to the Injured Reserve list, too.
Despite the Eagles' injury concerns with Wentz, using a mid-second round pick on a player that in the best-case scenario likely won't even see the field didn't make sense to Zangaro.
"They had the chance with the 53rd pick in the draft to go out and get a guy to help them win a Super Bowl, which is what they should be trying to do right now with a 27-year-old franchise quarterback," he said. "Instead, they went with an insurance policy.
"I understand the idea of wanting insurance," Zangaro continued. "But there was a very poignant question asked to [Eagles GM] Howie Roseman after the pick, and it was 'What's the best-case scenario with Jalen Hurts?' If you ever need him to play, it's because your franchise quarterback got hurt."
Roseman's response was that the Eagles plan to build a "quarterback factory," and if Hurts becomes a solid prospect, the Eagles could eventually flip him in a trade.
To Zangaro, that thinking doesn't add up. If the Eagles wanted to trade current backup QB Nate Sudfeld, they'd get a late-round pick in return at best. Philly's fifth-round pick from a year ago, Clayton Thorson, didn't even make the roster last season.
Also, if the Eagles were to trade Hurts in the future, it's worth wondering if the value in return for the passer would even come close to the value of the second-round pick they used to draft the quarterback in the first place.
"Say Hurts becomes a good prospect and they have an asset they want to trade, were they ever going to get more than the 53rd pick for him?" Zangaro asked. "No way."
Drafting Hurts shows the organization doesn't believe that their current franchise quarterback can stay healthy, according to Zangaro. Sure, that thinking may be fair, but Zangaro believes if that's the rationale behind the selection, they should come out and say it, rather than making other excuses for the pick.
"They tried to explain it, and they're putting a lot of stock into that position," he said. "That's their go-to line. But to me, it kind of shows a lack of confidence that their quarterback can stay healthy. Which is fair, but come out and say it."
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