It seems as if the Eagles are always written off whenever a mistake is made. After last season’s late collapse, it seems as if NFL pundits have written off Jalen Hurts in every way possible. He’s been held out of several top-10 QB lists that have been generated by the media although his peers voted him as a top-5 QB in the league. They also placed him 15th overall in the NFL’s top 100 list.
It’s funny how it all works. The critics generate a significant amount of noise in hopes of convincing people that they know what they’re speaking about but the reality is that they don’t. Which makes this next analyst’s critique a head-scratching. One because of who it’s coming from and two because it just doesn’t make much sense.
On Monday morning, ESPN’s Dan Orlovksy ranked his top-10 NFL quarterbacks by trait. With Orlovsky being a former NFL QB and a smart mind when it comes to the game of football, the expectations were high for who would be on this list. The list was broken into these seven categories: arm strength, ball placement, mechanics, decision-making, pocket Presence, rushing ability, and second reaction.
There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL, so you can imagine how difficult this list was to put together. But there are only about two handfuls of good quarterbacks with a handful of them being elite playmakers. For some odd reason, Jalen Hurts only made it to one category on this list which is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Sure, the Eagles had a down season last year to finish but it all wasn’t on Jalen Hurts. It was well known just how bland the offensive play-calling was throughout the season but somehow the Eagles QB has been written off because of it.
When it comes to ball placement, Jalen Hurts has been a very underrated QB throughout his career. His playmakers have often praised him for placing the ball where only they can make the play on it. Unfortunately, last season the Eagles franchise QB had a career-high 15 interceptions. Most of it could’ve been due to the amount of blitzes he saw which we all know the Eagles had no answer for.
When it comes to arm strength, Jalen Hurts has developed into one of the better deep passers in the NFL. While he isn’t throwing it out of the stadium with the strength of Patrick Mahomes, you rarely see Hurts shy away from passes that need an extra zip to it. I’m not sure how Will Levis, Baker Mayfield, and Anthony Richardson made the list above him but here we are. Orlovsky mentioned that we weighed it by two components: the ability to throw it downfield and the ability to fit it into tight windows.
Hurts has shown a unique ability to throw it downfield as seen many times by A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. An example of a unique combination of ball placement and arm strength can be seen in the Eagles’ game against the Bills. In the 4th quarter, Jalen Hurts scrambles to the left to complete a 34-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheus.
Orlovksy also left Jalen Hurts out of the next several comments which were decision-making, mechanics, and pocket presence. I understand the issue of decision-making from Hurts last season. To finish the year third in interceptions isn’t something you want to hang your hat on. Especially when you were the MVP front-runner for a good amount of the season. The turnovers were uncharacteristic of Jalen Hurts but it also painted the picture of all that was wrong with the Eagles offense.
At times it seems as if Hurts’ mechanics were a bit off due to the amount of duress he was under in the pocket. But still, his ability to extend plays and put his team in a better position was still around. I can’t complain about the players that are currently on the list but one thing I will say is that we all know Jordan Love had a rough start to the season but as you can see it’s all about how you finish not how you started.
The next component is an obvious one that Orlovsky included Hurts in. Out of 32 quarterbacks, Dan Orlovsky ranked Jalen Hurts as fourth in the top 10 of rushing ability. Jalen is one of the more dynamic QBs in the NFL when he has the ball in his hands. He rushed for 605 yards last season which placed behind only Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields. He also finished with 15 rushing touchdowns which he tied with Josh Allen.
Then there is second reaction. Orlovsky defines second reaction as a QB being able to make off-schedule and off-platform throws. Pretty much a QB being able to make wow plays to move the chains for the offense. He ranked the Eagles QB at 8th on the list. Ahead of him are Dak Prescott, Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes.
All of these QBs are good at that but call me crazy, Caleb Williams has yet to play in an NFL season. While we know the talent is there, the proof is not in the pudding just yet. Outside of that, I don’t have a riff with any of the players on this list. Could it be in a different order? Sure but all of these guys are pretty damn good when it comes to the second reaction ability.
Jalen Hurts could’ve and should’ve been included in more of the top-10 lists in each of these components. We’ve seen the best of him and could say that we have now seen the worst of him last season. With the excitement and great expectations of 2024 growing as the season draws closer, Jalen Hurts has the eyes of every Eagles fan and critic on him due to the potential of an MVP-caliber season.
How do you feel about Jalen Hurts being snubbed?
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
