Eagles had eyes on J.K. Dobbins, Jeremy Chinn if Jalen Hurts was gone

J.K. Dobbins, Jeremy Chinn were in play for the Eagles with the Jalen Hurts pick

The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the world when they selected Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts with their second round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the draft more than a month removed at this point, snippets are coming out about thoughts of teams from draft day; one of those snippets include running back J.K. Dobbins and safety Jeremy Chinn.

While it was Hurts who was the selection by the Eagles, the now Baltimore Ravens running back and Carolina Panthers safety were the backup plan in Philadelphia. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports in Monday Morning Quarterback that the Eagles were taken aback by these two prospects.

"“Southern Illinois S/LB Jeremy Chinn (Panthers) and Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins (Ravens) were two players I’d heard would’ve been under consideration, had Hurts not been the pick at 53” (via MMQB)"

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Dobbins, the 55th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, was selected just two picks after Hurts by the Ravens after a successful career with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Chinn then came off the board nine picks later to the Panthers after he tore up both the Senior Bowl and Combine despite playing at the FCS level.

The question remains, who would the Eagles have taken if Hurts was gone? Breer has a guess:

"Gun to my head, I say Philly would’ve taken Chinn in that circumstance."

This seems logical as the Eagles let Malcolm Jenkins walk this summer, and considering they burned a second round pick on Miles Sanders a year ago as well. Instead, Chinn fell an additional 11 spots and almost out of the second round of the draft.

In hindsight, the Panthers got quite lucky to have the big and athletic safety fall in their lap all the way at the last pick in the second round. In the end, the Eagles got their guy in Hurts, but it is always a fun time to see what a team’s backup plan was.