Tom Brady is gone and the New England Patriots don’t have a long-term replacement in place. Could dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts, out of the Lamar Jackson mold and a completely different type of quarterback than Brady, be the answer?
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes the Patriots could look to the former Oklahoma and Alabama star in the 2020 NFL Draft this coming week.
“There’s word out that they like Jalen Hurts from Oklahoma,” Kiper said Friday on WEEI. “He can be used in packages and do with him what they did with Lamar Jackson his rookie year in Baltimore.”
Kiper doesn’t think the Patriots would use their first-round choice, the 23rd overall pick, on Hurts. But if they can land a second-round pick, either by trading down or trading up – they do have three third-rounders and 12 picks altogether – Hurts could wind up in New England. The Patriots currently have Jarrett Stidham, their fourth-round pick in 2019, and veteran Brian Hoyer as their quarterbacks after Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a two-year, $50 million fully guaranteed contract this offseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers also are interested in Hurts, according to Kiper, as a possible replacement down the road for Ben Roethlisberger.
“I think Hurts is the interesting guy right now at quarterback. He’s moved up probably as much as anybody,” Kiper said. “[He’s] a talent who is a winner. He’s got great character as a quarterback that nobody would ever believe when you saw him at Alabama early on that he would be in this position. … He goes to Oklahoma after making progress as a passer at Alabama, he goes to Oklahoma and he has a big year. Who knows if he doesn’t have a big year for Lincoln Riley with the receivers and the competition you face in the Big 12 on defense. You’re going to put up big numbers, but his numbers were improved in a lot of areas.
“To me, you’ll get seeing the field. He’s not Tua [Tagovailoa], he’s not even close. He is not what you want him to be yet. Now, can he? We’ll see. He showed a NFL arm all year. He was impressive at the combine. He ran 4.59 [seconds in 40-yard dash]. He had 43 career rushing touchdowns. People have seen what Lamar Jackson has done. People see what Taysom Hill is doing in New Orleans, and it is a copycat league.”