King: Ravens 'Loved' Jalen Hurts; 'Dinosaur Thinking' to Criticize Eagles QB

The Philadelphia Eagles made one of the more surprising picks at the NFL draft this spring, selecting Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with a second-round pick. 

Many fans of the team were shocked that the Eagles used such significant draft capital on a player expected to mostly serve as Carson Wentz's backup. But Peter King of Pro Football Talk wrote he was surprised by criticism of Hurts and that at least one other team, the Baltimore Ravens, "loved" Hurts:

"I'm amazed at the anti-Hurts sentiment out there. Dinosaur thinking, I believe. Baltimore loved Jalen Hurts, for instance. Not saying the Ravens would have taken him, particularly with J.K. Dobbins left on the board, but Baltimore wouldn't have been afraid to insert him in the offense six or eight plays a game to scare the crap out of the defense. Same with Doug Pederson, who can handle the mental state of Wentz and be sure he knows that all Hurts can do is make Wentz better. With some teams, the backup quarterback is a top-10-important player on the team. When the franchise quarterback has missed 13 games due to injury in the last three years, that makes the backup QB much more important."

The question for many Eagles fans is how precisely Hurts will be utilized. Will he be a strict backup to Wentz? If so, that was undoubtedly a need for the team, albeit one it could have addressed later in the draft or with a veteran quarterback in free agency. Second-round picks are valuable assets.

Or do the Eagles see a more immediate role for Hurts? Could he function as a Swiss Army knife, similar to how Taysom Hill functions as a quarterback, running back and tight end for the Saints? Could Wentz and Hurts be on the field at the same time, giving the Eagles two threats to throw the ball? Will the Eagles draw up a few packages for Hurts to serve as the quarterback, namely in short-yardage and goal-line situations?

There's no doubt that Hurts has the ability to be utilized in a number of ways. Along with throwing for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year, Hurts also rushed for 1,298 yards and 20 scores. He could definitely have an impact as a run-pass threat for the Eagles next season.

As King noted, much will come down to Pederson's ability to utilize him correctly. There's little question that an organization that won a Super Bowl with Nick Foles values its backup quarterbacks immensely. But if Hurts is nothing more than a backup, the debate over whether the Eagles misallocated resources to address the position will continue.