The Indianapolis Colts are going to need a new quarterback. Following Andrew Luck‘s surprising retirement, Jacoby Brissett had a chance to be the quarterback of the future. While the former third-round pick had his moments, he ultimately didn’t do enough to earn the job going forward. The Colts currently own the 13th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and won’t have the chance to select someone like Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovaloa, or Justin Herbert. If they’re not sold on the mid-first guys like Jordan Love, Indianapolis could sit tight and select Jalen Hurts out of Oklahoma in the second round.
2020 NFL Draft: Jalen Hurts to the Indianapolis Colts?
Jalen Hurts the Prospect
Jalen Hurts is no Lamar Jackson, but he has a similar quarterbacking style. Hurts prefers to use both his legs and his arm to beat a defense. The Oklahoma product excels at taking off if his first read isn’t there and can usually turn a broken play into a positive situation. While he prefers to take off and run, he has an impressive ability to keep the play alive behind the line of scrimmage if no rushing lanes are available. Hurts has the skillset to break tackles in the pocket and the elusiveness to avoid incoming edge rushers. He might not be as elusive as Lamar Jackson, but he’d still be one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the league.
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Hurts has the raw tools to be a strong NFL starter, but there’s a reason teams could realistically get him in the second round. In terms of actually throwing the football, Hurts leaves something to be desired. While he does have a few nice throws on film, he struggles to consistently hit his targets. Having Ceedee Lamb and a fantastic coaching staff definitely boosted his passing numbers, and he’ll need to work on improving ball location at the next level.
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Additionally, Hurts tends to immediately bail out of the pocket if his first read isn’t there. While his athleticism tends to offset the negatives from giving up on a play, this can be a double-edged sword. Hurts is sometimes overly-confident in his playmaking abilities and tries to force things when he should just live to play another down.
The biggest disadvantage with Hurts’ ability to extend the play is that sometimes he tries to make too much happen. Should just live to play another down but instead forces a terrible pass for an interception pic.twitter.com/m2KlHoRnaG
— Dave Latham (@DLPatsThoughts) February 15, 2020
How Hurts Fits the Colts
Jalen Hurts isn’t ready to be an NFL starter quite yet. The Oklahoma product still needs to work on reading a defense and going through his progressions. Because of this, it’s best if Hurts lands with a team that has a bridge quarterback ready to go. Fortunately for the Colts, they have an absurd amount of cap space and one of the best offensive lines in the league. Indianapolis can sign a short-term fix like Philip Rivers or Tom Brady and let Hurts develop on the bench for a season or two. Once the two aforementioned quarterbacks run out of gas, a more-developed Hurts could take over as the quarterback of the future.
Ultimately, Jalen Hurts and the Colts are a great pairing. He possesses the raw talent to develop into a long-term option under center if the coaching staff is creative enough to base their offense around his freak athleticism. He still has a way to go in terms of traditional quarterbacking, but a season or two on the bench should help his overall progression. If the Colts can’t grab any of the top quarterbacks in the class, they can use their first-round pick to grab an elite talent and still grab a potential quarterback of the future in the second round.
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