In a bit of a surprise move, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The move has already drawn the ire of some fans, as the team already has a franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz.
However, Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman released a statement on a teleconference after the pick to defend the decision, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.
“We think he's an incredible teammate. He's got a lot to learn here, obviously. We've shown how we feel about Carson with our actions. We showed it by the amount of picks we put into him and we showed it with the contract extension,” Roseman said.
#Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s gull opening statement from his teleconference with the media on the selection of Jalen Hurts and what it means for Carson Wentz pic.twitter.com/oIcJmbHCmh
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 25, 2020
While Carson Wentz has been a star for the Eagles when healthy, the former No. 2 overall pick has struggled a bit with injuries in his first four seasons after playing just 13 games in 2017 and 11 in 2018.
Former backup quarterback Nick Foles (now with the Chicago Bears) famously led the team to a Super Bowl win in 2018, so it's clear that Roseman and the Eagles organization heavily value a second quarterback and Hurts certainly has the talent.
After transferring from Alabama, Jalen Hurts put on a show in his final season. Leading the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, the 6-foot-2, 218-pound quarterback completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 1,298 yards and 20 additional touchdowns.
“We looked at where we were on the board and what was the pick we believed in the most and the kind of people we believe in the most, Jalen stood out in all those regards,” Roseman added.
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