There have been some rumors circulating that 2018 1st round pick Hayden Hurst could be traded to either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the New England Patriots:
Whether those rumors are true or not remains to be seen, but there was speculation that the Ravens were in the mix for trading for Jalen Ramsey with Hayden Hurst being a part of a larger package earlier this past season. With Ravens fans being somewhat split on what the team should do, I want to get into why the Ravens should or shouldn’t trade Hurst.
Hurst is in an interesting position this offseason. He was a big part of why the Ravens were so successful during the 2019 regular season. So many of his catches were contested by the defender closest to him, but his big frame and strong hands usually edged out the defender.
He was very demonstrative on the field and has a passion for playing the position. Hurst is an all-around tight end and would probably be the number one tight end on any other team. With that being said, on the Raven’s team, he was the third-string tight end and was not utilized all that often.
Because of this, his value to the Ravens is probably lower than some fans might think. He has all the talent in the world, but if he is not on the field to use it what good is it to the team? Which is why he could be on the trading block this offseason. As much as the Ravens love to use their tight ends, Hurst could be a player who is traded away to acquire more picks in a fairly loaded 2020 NFL draft class.
Patriots, Jaguars exploring pre-draft trade for @Ravens TE Hayden Hurst, but whether it happens will depend on what draft capital teams r willing to part with. Hurst, who Jags we’re going to draft in 2018 ,told me 2 months ago he wants opportunity to catch more passes. Stay tuned
— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) February 24, 2020
Many experts consider the 2020 class to be fairly weak at the tight end position, which could push Hurst’s value up. However, I also think that we have not seen the best of Hurst and keeping him could make just as much sense. So what should the Ravens do here? There are strong cases to be made for and against trading Hurst.