2020 NFL Draft: Jalen Hurts Scouting Report

Likely 2020 NFL Draft  Destinations for Hurts

Hurts has had an incredible career playing for both Alabama and Oklahoma.

While many people remember Hurts as the quarterback who was replaced on national television during the College Championship game, Hurts has a lot to be proud of during the four years he played in college. Starting for the Alabama Crimson Tide as a true freshman is a testament to how talented this young man is, as Alabama has a revolving door of talent every year coming into the program.

To have two of the brightest minds in College Football, Saban and Riley, think you are good enough to start for their teams shows an incredible level of confidence these professional coaches have in this young man. These two coaches oversee two of the most successful football programs in the entire country.

Considering his ignominious removal from a championship game on national television, it is hard to imagine any other quarterback coming back from that. Very few people would have had the intestinal fortitude to pick themselves back up after something like that, least of all a young man only a few years removed from high school.

To start over with a completely new team, system and coach, and to exceed the expectations of everyone and bring yourself back to the College Playoffs shows a level of grit, poise and grace rarely seen from a player so young. The level of maturity and professionalism Hurts exhibited throughout his time in Alabama on the bench shows NFL teams that he is more than mentally ready to handle the stresses of being an NFL quarterback.

Hurts has shown that he can thrive in multiple environments and is not just a product of his coaches. Hurts is the antithesis of a system quarterback, and should be getting plenty of attention in the 2020 NFL Draft.

How well he performs in this year’s College Playoffs can only help his case for being a first-round quarterback in the upcoming draft. Let’s take a look at some of the quarterback-needy teams that should be interested in Hurts this offseason.

With the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins are in the best position to draft Hurts if they think he is the franchise quarterback of the future.

For starters, Coach Brian Flores has plenty of experience with making his own way in the NFL. Flores didn’t come up in the NFL coaching ranks the same way other head coaches did. According to an article from NFL.com, Flores got his start by interning for the New England Patriots.

Flores came up the hard way, not by having a famous last name or connections in the league office, but by coming in every day and doing the best job he could at the position he was afforded. He rose in the Patriots ranks, from intern to scout to assistant coach, on and on, until earlier this year when he was named the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

If you ever want a great story about a person persevering and overcoming the obstacles in their way, I suggest you look into the background of Brian Flores. This guy manifested his own dreams by hard work and made his way to the very top of the NFL. Flores and Hurts would have plenty in common, and their drive for success could yield big results for Miami.

Besides having the shared experience of being under-dogs in the league, Flores definitely did not miss watching the Ravens take down the Patriots this year. Watching another famous dual-threat quarterback take down this season’s best defense should have given plenty of inspiration for the coach of the Dolphins, who shares a division with the Patriots.

This team has been amassing draft picks all season, and with three first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Dolphins could draft their quarterback of the future and supply him with an elite wide receiver in the first round. A winning formula for Hurts that served him well at both Oklahoma and Alabama.

With the departure of generational talent Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts should be making several interviews with quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL draft class.

Jacoby Brissett played quarterback for the team this year, and despite a decent start, the team eventually fell back down to earth and will miss the postseason this year. Brissett played well enough, but the team was built with a dynamic player at quarterback in mind.

The team was constructed in the off-season to be in win-now mode and has talent on both sides of the ball. With a creative coach like Frank Reich calling the plays and an adaptable quarterback like Hurts running the offense, the Colts could return to playoff contention in 2020.

With a revolving door at quarterback this year for the Carolina Panthers, along with the expulsion of head coach Ron Rivera, the next head coach for the team may want to make a radical new path heading into 2020.

Cam Newton may have come into the season as the veteran franchise quarterback, but with two seasons ending in injuries for Newton, the team may decide this is the season to move on from Newton before he is up for a new contract. The 2020 NFL Draft might be their best chance of doing just that.

The team has thrived on Newton’s style as a dual-threat quarterback in the past. Whoever takes over for Rivera as head coach will want to bring excitement and youth to the position of quarterback, while still sticking to the skillset that made the Panthers a contender for the past decade.

Hurts would be entering the NFC South at an opportune time. The Saints and Drew Brees appear to be winding down their partnership in the next few seasons. The Atlanta Falcons have regressed significantly and have potentially missed Matt Ryan’s Super Bowl Window. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have recommitted to a quarterback whose best season to date has had him throwing 28 interceptions.

The NFC South is in prime condition for an upstart coach/quarterback combo to come in and completely take over. Whoever is coaching the Carolina Panthers in 2020, expect them to keep a close eye on the comeback kid Hurts during the 2020 NFL Draft.