The Patriots don’t currently have a second-round pick, but if they acquire one, ESPN’s Mel Kiper believes New England could grab a quarterback.
And not just any quarterback, one specific one.
“There’s word out that they like Jalen Hurts from Oklahoma,” Kiper said on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria.” “He could be used in packages, and they could do with him they did with Lamar Jackson his rookie year in Baltimore. …
“There’s talk they could look at Jalen Hurts. I’m not buying 23, but if they move out of the first round, could they look at Jalen Hurts in the second round?”
Kiper said Hurts has “moved up as much as anybody” in the draft.
“You keep hearing Hurts,” Kiper said. “You can believe it, not believe it, buy into it, say it’s too high, but Jalen Hurts, I’ve been told by someone I respect very much in the NFL right now. He’s a GM. He said the other day that he will not get out of Round 2. Hurts will not get out of Round 2.”
Hurts began his career at Alabama, was benched for Tua Tagovailoa and transferred to Oklahoma. He shined in Lincoln Riley’s offense and now could find himself drafted in the second round.
Kiper noted something we’ve been saying more months: Even if Hurts doesn’t win the starting job at quarterback, he still could be used in packages similar to how the New Orleans Saints deploy Taysom Hill as a running back and receiver. Hurts is the most athletic quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft.
