Eagles

Eagles’ Selection of Jalen Hurts Defies Logic (and Betting Odds)

By Bob Wankel

Published: Apr 25th, 2020 · 9:18 AM EDT

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The Eagles shocked the entire football world–and judging by the way Howie Roseman handled his Friday night conference call with reporters, perhaps also himself–by selecting quarterback Jalen Hurts with the 53rd pick in the draft.

A quarterback. With a second round pick. For a team rife with roster deficiencies.

We will spare you the recap of the outrage here, but a quick look at Twitter or a turn of the dial to sports talk radio this morning will surely capture the WTFness of the pick.

In making perhaps the most stunning selection of the draft, the Quarterback Factory® not only defied conventional wisdom–it also defied the betting odds.

After starting the day at 55.5, Hurts’ draft selection over/under closed on 51.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook .

Hurts is a good football player. He’s a winner, he has overcome adversity, and of greater importance, he showed improved passing skills in his lone season at Oklahoma. That progress, along with his character attributes, size and athletic ability, make him much more than a fringe prospect.

The shock over the pick, however, isn’t about about the timing. It’s about the destination.

Prior to the open of the second round, DraftKings installed the Eagles at long +10000 odds to select the Heisman runner-up.

Obviously, nobody had that. Who would ever flush their money on such a ridiculous prop?

TURNED $50 INTO $5K ON HURTS TO PHILLY 🤯

(via abas_dauti/IG) pic.twitter.com/rSRE6Tw5OF

— br_betting (@br_betting) April 25, 2020

Welp.

In an equally surprising upset, the username of the lucky bettor wasn’t HowieTime2017.

The Eagles had even longer +15000 odds over at BetMGM where three different tickets had Hurts coming to Philly.

Still, the Hurts pick didn’t represent the Eagles’ lone surprise of the draft. Though they were installed as a -200 favorite to take a wide receiver at No. 21, the selection of Jalen Reagor (+1000) was also a bit of an eye-opener.

Justin Jefferson (+160) was the overwhelming favorite to go to the Eagles, while Denzel Mims (+450), Henry Ruggs (+600), CeeDee Lamb (+850), and Tee Higgins (+900) each had better odds than the TCU wideout.