Top 10 Quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft: No. 7 Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

2020 NFL Draft Prediction: Second Round

Hurts is a solid Day Two quarterback to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. He will need to go to a team that is willing to coach him up for a season.

Expect several NFL playoff teams from 2019-2020 to be taking a close look at Hurts. Several teams, like the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots, will be needing a quarterback in the next year or two. In the 2020 NFL Draft, there are enough quarterbacks that may allow Hurts to fall to these playoff teams.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be an interesting destination for Hurts. He would have high-end receiver help like he had in Oklahoma and Alabama, along with a head coach who specializes in maximizing quarterbacks serviceable talents. Head coach Bruce Arians has extensively worked with quarterbacks in the past, helping them elevate their ceiling as a pro.

Teams will have to accept that Hurts will need more time to work on his accuracy and pocket presence before he makes the transition into the NFL. Hurts has shown through his benching for Tua fiasco that he is humble and willing to be a team player, so asking Hurts to sit on the bench and develop shouldn’t cause too much trouble for the young man’s ego.

If this list was chronicling where I thought quarterbacks from the 2020 NFL Draft could be ranked in five years, Hurts would be number one in potential. Hurts has an incredible ceiling.

But in his current state, Hurts is just not accurate enough to lead an NFL franchise. Running into the open field in the NFL is a recipe for disaster, where linebackers and defensive backs hit harder and faster than they do in the Big 12.

I’d rather see Hurts develop for a year or two and play when he is ready and not become the 2020 NFL Draft equivalent of Josh Rosen.

Hurts will have some more work to do once he is in the NFL. He will have to start over with a new coach, in a new system, with new expectations and potentially humble himself and defer to another quarterback on the team, despite being a phenomenal athlete. He is uniquely up to the task, perhaps more so than any other quarterback prospect ever has.

Where Hurts gets selected in the 2020 NFL Draft will determine his entire career. If he is lucky, he will go to a team that does not demand perfection in his rookie season and will have time to develop him.