One player at each position Redskins should target after NFL Combine
Jalen Hurts has seen the buzz around him start to plateau since he started the 2019 college season on fire. He played well at quarterback for Oklahoma, but still had a lot of work to do at the next level.
But at the 2020 NFL Combine, he did a lot to help himself. He showed off a good arm, solid passing ability, and the traits needed to be a playmaker at the NFL level.
In the lead-up to the combine, Hurts was one of the few quarterbacks I was focusing on for the Redskins. Here’s what I said about him in that piece.
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"For the next level, Hurts needs work as a passer, but he could find work as a multi-faceted weapon for the right team. He’s similar to Taysom Hill in that he’s mobile and has a thick 6-foot-1, 222-pound frame and could make noise as a passer, rusher, receiver, and even as a special teams player. Perhaps a team could find a way to utilize his skill set while he continues to develop as a passer and in a few years, he may be ready to start."
I still really like the Taysom Hill comparison for Hurts. He ran well at the combine and his 4.59 time in the 40-yard dash was third-best among quarterbacks. So, that’s a plus for his mobility and speed coming out of the backfield.
But it was the passing drills where Hurts impressed the most. He continued to show good accuracy and while he doesn’t have the strongest arm, he has an NFL-caliber one and can still get some velocity on it (54 mph in the ball velocity drill).
It will be interesting to see where Hurts ends up. But if the ‘Skins want to get a developmental backup and Hurts lasts until the middle rounds, they could take him. Of course, that would be predicated on the team filling some of their other bigger needs in free agency, but never rule anything out this early during draft season.