Former OU quarterback Jalen Hurts was the 21st pick in the second round last Friday by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hurts is Oklahoma’s third quarterback drafted in three years. OU is the only program to ever produce QB selections in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft in three consecutive years (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray went No. 1 overall in 2018 and ’19). No school had ever produced QB picks in the first five rounds of the NFL Draft in three straight seasons.

The Houston native  averaged 275.1 passing yards and 92.7 rushing yards per contest.

Hurts had 5,149 yards of offense in 2019 (3,851 passing, 1,298 rushing), good for the second-highest figure in OU history. He set OU single-season records for rushing yards by a quarterback and points scored by a QB (126). He also tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns by a QB (Jack Mildren also had 20 in 1971).

With Carson Wentz entrenched as the starting Eagle quarterback, some wondered why Philadelphia drafted Hurts. Wentz just signed a four-year $120 million contract.

“We think that this is the most important position in sports, and we felt like this was a proven winner, a guy who is an incredible teammate. He’s going to strengthen that quarterback room,” said Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said. “There’s no doubt we have a Pro Bowl, 27-year-old quarterback (in Wentz), but we’ve seen the value of quarterbacks on our football team. We’ve seen the value of (quarterbacks on) other teams.

“This gives us another weapon in that room. This gives us another incredible teammate. This gives us somebody that is going to be incredibly supportive to our quarterback, and quite frankly, this is exciting. This is exciting. This is exciting for our quarterbacks. This is exciting for our football team, and this is the kind of decisions that we’re going to make. And we’re proud of it.”

“When a guy like Jalen Hurts is sitting there and he comes down the draft board a little bit, and his skill set and the upside with him and how he can add value to that room that we have and how he can enhance and help, there’s a lot of value there, and so we’re very excited about him,” said Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson said. “He’s a proven winner. We talked about it, we discussed it, that he’s very talented. There’s a lot of upside with him, and so, again, it just enhances our quarterback room and makes us better.”