Raiders reportedly eyeing Jalen Hurts in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly eyeing Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts as a possible Day 2 target in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Las Vegas Raiders have gone through months — and realistically two years — of rumors surrounding the quarterback position. And even though Derek Carr is still expected to be the starting QB in 2020, that hasn’t quieted the rumors mill.

The signing of Marcus Mariota created a bit of a stir, but that subsided once it became clear that the former Oregon star wasn’t brought in to directly compete with Carr — at least not right away.

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Mariota will begin the season as the backup, that much seems all but certain at this point. He’s there to provide a fallback plan and to push Carr more than he’s been pushed thus far in his six-year career.

Still, it’s apparent that the Raiders aren’t sold on Carr as the future of the franchise. That, of course, has led to rumors that the team could look to replace him in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Some have connected them with Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with one of the team’s two first-round picks. Love is a raw, but talented prospect who will need some development, but has all the physical traits to be a star.

However, that just doesn’t seem like a Mike Mayock pick.

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The Raiders want to compete in 2020, they want to win now. Love is a developmental project at best and it would make little sense to use one of those picks on a player who likely wouldn’t even play next season as opposed to one who could fill a direct need.

Love seems like a longshot, but there’s another quarterback in this class who the team could be targeting.

Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts has been rumored to be a top target of the Raiders for a while now. And one source in the know believes that if given the opportunity, they won’t let him slip.

The Athletic’s Vic Tafur had the following to say about the possibility of the Raiders drafting Hurts in this year’s draft.

"“They do really like Hurts, but the Marcus Mariota signing allows them not to force anything. If Hurts is there in the third round, I think they take him.”"

The Raiders own three third-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, but none in the second round. Hurts was considered to be a late-Day-2/early-Day-3 target before an impressive showing at the NFL Combine propelled him up draft boards.

Now, it would be a shock to see him fall past Round 3.

If the Raiders are lucky, he’ll make it to their first pick in the third round at No. 80 overall. Las Vegas also selects at 81 and 91 in the third round and could conceivably trade up to snag their guy.

However, it seems more likely they stay put and hope he falls to them. As Tafur said, they don’t need to force anything. But if the opportunity presents itself, expect them to jump at the chance to land a high-character, developmental signal-caller in the third round.

Jalen Hurts may not be starting in 2020, but don’t be surprised to see him in a Raiders uniform come the NFL Draft.