2020 NFL Draft: Inconsistencies still there for Jalen Hurts after Peach Bowl

Jalen Hurts finished out his college career with a Peach Bowl loss to LSU. Are there still inconsistencies regarding his 2020 NFL Draft stock?

It’s never easy to finish out a college career with a loss, especially on the biggest stage in the College Football Playoff. It’s worse to get obliterated there, and unfortunately, that’s what happened to Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Hurts had a very good year under Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley, so good in fact that his 2020 NFL Draft stock rose steadily over the course of the season. Many mock drafts have Hurts going in the first round in some capacity.

However, there’s inconsistency in terms of his draft stock. That inconsistency with his stock is all over draft Twitter, as he has grades all over the place at this point. The main point of contention with Hurts is his mechanics, processing, and accuracy, which work hand in hand. His slower processing leads to rushed mechanics at times, which hurts his accuracy to all levels of the field.

We saw similar things with his game on Saturday. There’s promise to his game, but the inconsistency needs to be ironed out as he moves on to the next level.

Giving his chart a first glance, it isn’t terrible. Hurts looked very solid on Saturday between zero and 10 yards (9/14 passing), making quick decisions and finding ways to make plays outside the pocket when pressured.

Pressure is something to note with Hurts in this game. He made some throws under duress and was forced to make plays with his legs because of it.

When looking past 10 yards, things get a little dicey. He was just three of six passing to the intermediate level (11-19 yards). He made a very impressive play on one of those throws, finding CeeDee Lamb after maneuvering around the pocket, but there were other throws that were behind receivers at that level of the field.

The deep ball was the kicker in this one. Hurts hit on one of six from deep, a beautiful ball to Lamb early in the game. He placed it perfectly on Lamb’s outside shoulder 50 yards down the field, and it led to an early Sooners touchdown. His next four throws were misses, including an interception where he floated it too much down the sideline. It’s tough to know if he saw the safety closing or not, but that pick didn’t look good. Hurts also missed Lamb a couple times down the field by a step or two.

One of his incompletions deep, his last deep attempt, was dropped by Lamb, which would have almost certainly been a touchdown. His deep ball needs improvement, but he did hit a couple throws.

His biggest concern after this game is the inconsistent accuracy in the intermediate level of the field. There are times where his delivery and mechanics are off, and he misses easy throws. A good example is a throw in the red zone where Lamb came free for an easy score, and Hurts flat out missed. There wasn’t tight coverage, and a throw at his chest would’ve meant six.

That inconsistency with accuracy and mechanics makes Hurts a project going forward in the 2020 NFL Draft process. Teams will come back to this game and see that. His leadership and intangibles are undeniable, but he needs to continue to improve his physical traits to be a starter in the NFL.