Jalen Hurts went No. 53 overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. In that same draft, Jordan Love was the last quarterback taken in the first round at No. 26 overall, behind Joe Burrow (No. 1), Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5) and Justin Herbert (No. 6).
Hurts and Love were surprise selections by the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Hurts was picked behind Carson Wentz, while Love was an absolute shocker behind Aaron Rodgers.
Hurts started out as a potential special package “gadget QB” as a rookie, but as Wentz fell out of favor for lame-duck Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson, Hurts took over full-time in Year 2 under Nick Sirianni, helping to reboot the Eagles as an NFC title-caliber powerhouse.
Love had to wait his turn longer, as Rodgers would his third and fourth MVP awards in 2020 and 2021. Then Rodgers was headed to leave the Packers after a big fade in individual and team success in 2022, opening the door for Love to finally start in his fourth NFL season in 2023. Love helped led Green Bay back to the divisional playoffs and a scored a big upset over Dallas in the wild-card round.
How did fortune favor the bold moves of the Packers and Eagles? Here’s revisiting the drafting of Hurts and Love:
How Eagles stole Jalen Hurts in 2020 draft
2020 DRAFT: Why Burrow, Tua, Herbert and Hurts all landed on right teams
Hurts was not expected to be a first-round pick in 2020. He had rebuild his NFL draft stock well during one strong season at Oklahoma after transferring from Alabama with Tagovailoa taking over as the starter. He sitll was considered to be a bit of developmental dual threat.
The Steelers, near the transition from Ben Roethlisberger, and Patriots, post Tom Brady were the teams rumored to take Hurts most on Day 2. The Raiders with some extra picks and the Saints, with Drew Brees retiring, were also considering drafting Hurts.
But the Eagles beat them to the punch the mid second-round. Philadelphia had not been on the radar for Hurts, but given Wentz’s durability issues and a worrisome declining in play for Pederson, it made sense as the pick was made. Credit GM Howie Roseman for having a bit of foresight as the Hurts pick also helped reset the team’s salary-cap space when it moved on from Wentz, allowing it to built another team to get to the Super Bowl under Siranni, this time with sustained success.
How Packers stole Jordan Love in 2020 draft
2020 DRAFT: Love pick gave Packers’ last laugh over Rodgers
The Packers didn’t intend to take Love in the first round, but they couldn’t pass up the value in relation to his upside. Once Burrow, Tagovailoa and Herbert were off the board, it was uncertain when Love would go, despite the Utah State product having buzz, hype and momentum from his pre-draft workouts.
Many expected the Packers to tap into a strong wide receiver class in the first round, one that was stamped by Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and yes, Justin Jefferson in the top 22 picks. At No. 26, Green Bay was attached to taking Brandon Aiyuk, but the future 49ers star went to San Francisco a pick earlier.
At the same time, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was aware of Love’s fall out of teens and the promise of being the prospect with the most potential still on the board. The Packers needed running back depth behind Aaron Jones, but they waited until No. 62 overall for A.J. Dillon. The Packers didn’t take a wideout in any round but some questioned with no Aiyuk, why they instead didn’t select the available Tee Higgins (Bengals) or Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts).
But Love was No. 1 left on many QB-needier teams’ boards. Rodgers wasn’t a fan of the pick, but as a passer driven by chips on his shoulder, he responded in some of his best play late in his career with back-to-back MVPs. Gutekunst was just gettting ahead of the future, much like his late mentor Ted Thompson did in taking a falling Rodgers in the 2004 first round behind an aging Brett Favre.
Like Favre, Rodgers was headed to fallout with the Packers and went to extend his career with the Jets following the 2022 season, opening the door for Love. Love, as expected, was a prized pupil in Matt LaFleur, leading to a smooth transition and more consistent contention from Green Bay.
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