28 August 2023 , 14:54
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has admitted the team were interested in drafting Jalen Hurts before he went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hurts was drafted by the Eagles in 2020 with the No.53 pick in the second round. The Cowboys had selected cornerback Trevon Diggs just two picks higher at No.51, with Hurts now going on to become a franchise quarterback in Philadelphia. Dak Prescott has been the starting QB for Dallas since his first season in the league in 2016 and is now entering his eighth year in the NFL, but there have been question marks in recent days over his long-term future at the AT&T Stadium.
On Friday it was announced the Cowboys had agreed to a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for third-year quarterback Trey Lance. The 23-year-old was the No.3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but had fallen below Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold in the QB standings in San Francisco.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Jones revealed how he and the Cowboys were interested in drafting Hurts had he fallen further down the rounds in the 2020 draft. "I think had we been able to draft him [Lance] with next year’s four, the kind of talent he was in this draft, like I just told you, two years ago, we were looking at [the] Philadelphia quarterback [Jalen Hurts],” he said.
“But looking at him, had he fallen to us there we would have drafted him. It is our plan when we can but it very seldom happens to have someone of high enough quality to be there at the right place with our draft pick. And this one [Lance] worked and so we're excited about it.”
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Hurts was drafted with pick No.53 in 2020, with the Cowboys not having another selection until the third round with pick No.82. Instead of drafting a QB, Dallas selected defensive tackle Neville Gallimore from Oklahoma. Since being drafted by the Eagles, Hurts has gone on to become one of the star quarterbacks in the NFL.
In April he was handed a five-year $255 million (£202 million) contract that will include $110 million (£87 million) in guaranteed money. For Lance, he will join the QB room in Dallas and look to learn from Prescott in the coming weeks and months. He will be joined by Cooper Rush, while it was announced that Will Grier would released by the team.