In ranking veteran-rookie passing duos, Bucky Brooks has this as his No. 5 entrant.
Jalen Hurd has been getting a lot of love. While Deebo Samuel was considered the best wide receiver in th 2019 NFL Draft by some and the praise is gushed on what he can do with Jimmy Garoppolo, Jalen Hurd has been entering conversations quite a bit. The third-round pick has so much to offer in terms of versatility him in Kyle Shanahan’s system will be something to watch.
NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks thinks so and has Hurd and Garoppolo—not Samuel and Garoppolo—as his No. 5 entrant in top veteran-rookie passing duos.
“Kyle Shanahan has upgraded the weaponry around Jimmy G. with a young set of versatile pass catchers coming on board to add some spice to the passing game, including second-round pick Deebo Samuel, who was selected a round earlier than Hurd. However, I’m choosing to highlight Hurd here because of his unique game. He’s a Swiss Army knife-like playmaker with the capacity to align at wide receiver, tight end or running back in any formation. As the 49ers retool their offense to generate more explosive plays, Hurd could be a featured playmaker in an offense that takes advantage of mismatches on the perimeter.”
It’s worth noting with this list that Brooks doesn’t list the New England Patriots duo of Tom Brady/N’Keal Harry which was something interesting. Since the Patriots drafted a wide receiver so high and Brady is nigh-ageless it sounded like a fascinating combo.
The more I read and see about Jalen Hurd, the more I wonder if he’ll be a star in Kyle Shanahan’s offense with Jimmy Garoppolo under the helm. Given the pack of wide receivers the 49ers no possess, Hurd and Samuel, along with last year’s acquisition of Dante Pettis could transform the 49ers pass-catchers.
Given that Hurd is going to be used everywhere—and yes, I mean everywhere—he could be a superstar in this offense. If it doesn’t pan out with his rawness, Samuel can pick things up. We keep hearing about Garoppolo/Samuel, but do you think Garoppolo/Hurd will be a bigger household name by the time 2019 is over with?
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