Midseason potential Miami Dolphins draft prospect profile: Jalen Hurts

Our continuing series on the top draft-eligible quarterbacks focuses on Oklahoma University QB Jalen Hurts.

Our fifth installment of “Midseason QB Profile” highlights possibly the most ‘polarizing’ quarterback prospect in this year’s draft.

Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

2019 Stats (as of 10/25):  114-154, 74% comp pct, 2074 yards, 20 TDs, 3 INTs

Why do I say that Hurts is a ‘polarizing’ prospect?  Because he is the third quarterback, in as many years, to put on a Heisman-caliber performance in the Sooner offense.  First it was Baker Mayfield.  Then it was Kyler Murray.  Both of them put up monster numbers in their senior season; leading to back-to-back Heisman trophies.

Coming out of college, the biggest difference between those two QBs and Hurts is 2″ and a proven track record of being successful some place other than Oklahoma.

At 6’2″ tall, Hurts won’t enter the draft process with the same concerns about height that plagued both Mayfield and Murray.

His 48-to-12 touchdown to interception ratio and track record of winning after three years at Alabama, is both a positive and a negative.  On one hand, Hurts has proven he wasn’t simply a product of the high-powered Lincoln Riley system.  However, Alabama has been considered a ‘monolith’ of college football greatness and is annually stacked with pro talent.  Did Hurts jump from one great situation to another?

His accuracy, arm strength and mobility are without question ‘NFL caliber’.  The questions that plagues Hurts revolve around how quickly he can work his progressions and his inconsistency in the “big game” against high level defenses.

In the last three games of 2016 (that includes the SEC Championship and BCS Playoffs) hurts completed 47% of his passes and rode his running game and defense to championship game; which he lost in completing 41.9% of his passes against Clemson.

In the rematch with Clemson in the 2017 semi-final, Hurts got his revenge by completing 66.7% of his passes but for just 120 yards.  However, he was pulled at halftime of the title game in favor of Tua Tagovailoa after completing just 3 of 8 passes (37.8%).

Hurts played sparingly in 2018 which triggered his desire to transfer to Oklahoma for his senior season.  (Since he graduated in three years, he didn’t have to sit out a year due to “grad transfer” rules.)

Could Hurts be the “next big thing” in the NFL or will he just turn out to be a product of Lincoln Riley’s innovative offense?  Only time will tell.