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The 2020 NFL Draft will be a defining moment for the Philadelphia Eagles as an organization and their second-round pick will have a lasting effect on several franchises around the league.
At pick No. 53 in the second round, the Eagles solidified their backup quarterback position by selection former Alabama and Oklahoma star signal-caller, Jalen Hurts. The pick caused controversy after the Eagles committed $128 million to star quarterback Carson Wentz.
The move will now link three or four players together forever thanks to this tidbit from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Breer recently reported that the Eagles had eyes on Southern Illinois S/LB Jeremy Chinn and Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins in 2nd round, but only if Hurts was off the board.
I’ve got a couple of fun notes on the Eagles’ vetting of Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts, which provided the runway for his selection as the 53rd pick on Friday. One, VP of player personnel Andy Weidl actually got live exposure to Hurts in game action—he was on site for the Sooners’ 52–14 beatdown of West Virginia. Hurts threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-17 passing, and his only incompletion came on a drop by Drake Stoops (yup, Bob’s son); and he rushed for 75 yards and two more touchdowns on 10 carries. Two, pass-game coordinator Press Taylor was on site for Oklahoma’s pro day on March 12, which took place just before the scouting circuit was shut down, and gave Philly another data point to work off. Obviously, both of those guys had positive impressions. And again, I think the main argument here is how high Hurts was picked, given that the Eagles just gave their young franchise quarterback a top-of-the-market deal. Only time will tell us the rest of the story. And if you want something to track coming out of all this: Southern Illinois S/LB Jeremy Chinn (Panthers) and Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins (Ravens) were two players I’d heard would’ve been under consideration, had Hurts not been the pick at 53. Gun to my head, I say Philly would’ve taken Chinn in that circumstance.
The Eagles indeed have Sanders at the running back position and it would have likely caused the same controversy if the Birds had chosen Dobbins at No. 53, making that two straight years they went running back early.
It would have made for a very dynamic running game, but the more obvious comparisons could come between Chinn and Eagles fourth-round pick, former Clemson star K’Von Wallace.
Chinn is a versatile defender who likely slid in the draft because of the level of competition he faced at Southern Illinois. He’s an imposing figure at safety and if he turns out to become a better player than Wallace, then Eagles fans will most certainly refer back to Hurts being the selection and not Chinn.
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