Outlook of Jalen Hurts
By: Jake Rajala
The former Bama quarterback Jalen Hurts was regarded as quite the dual-threat quarterback last season. Hurts ran for 14 touchdowns and threw 18 TDs last season. This season, he is ranked as the sixth best QB in dynasty. He has two 19 pts games, a 24 pt game, and an 29 pt contest. Clearly, he has been quite sharp.
It doesn’t help dynasty owners that Hurts won a Super Bowl. Well, it may give them more confidence, especially in match-ups against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hurts started the season 4-0, but his team fell apart in a loss against the Denver Broncos. Sean Payton knew how to pick a part the Eagles defense. Hurts still played fairly well. He had a couple of touchdown passes.
I would like to see him feed A.J. Brown the ball more, as he’s arguably a Top-5 WR. PFF even dubbed him the best overall WR entering this season. Brown, also known as a book worm, has a PFF grade of 68. Ouch. He has taken out his frustration via social media.
Thankfully, another former Bama player in DeVonta Smith helped Hurts in the passing attack. Smith had 114 yards in the contest. Smith and Brown both tried to catch the hail mary pass, but they lacked awareness and tipped it from each other.
Hurts has an impressive passer rating of 101.3 on the season. It’s helpful that he’s throwing accurate balls and taking care of the field. I’d still like to see him not rank 26th in passing attempts, 22nd in passing yards, and tied for 18th in passing touchdowns. He does somewhat make up for a lack in passing production by being a potent threat with his legs. This is similar to Justin Fields’s dual-threat stats. It doesn’t help the Eagles weapons, however.
With that enunciated, a critical question surrounds Hurts: What is the value of Hurts?
I love the consistency of Hurts. That’s why he’s graded out as a Top-5 QB. The combination of his talent and stage of his career makes him untradeable in my opinion. You can’t offer enough first round picks to get him. I believe there may be a path to acquire him. You could throw in a young QB with a first or second round pick, such as Drake Maye, and a 2nd round pick for him.
I believe that Hurts has likely peaked. If he can’t throw over 4k yards or 30 TDs with his current WR duo and the other offensive chess pieces, I can’t foresee him reaching those heights without them. I still don’t see Hurts slowing down. He has an elite OL, a Top-5 WR duo (even if Brown is in a rough patch), a Top-5 RB, and an elite TE.
I also believe that the Eagles own their division. They dropped a 50 burger on the next best team (Commanders) in their last meeting. Hurts should also have confidence against the Boys, as Philly beat them in Week 1.
I’d like to see more production from Saquon Barkley. I understand if Barkley has one or maybe two below average performances. But, it’s simply been a sad outcome for nearly every game for Saquon. He doesn’t have a 100 yard outing yet. Defenses won’t respect Hurt’s play-action game if Barkley can’t start cooking. So, is the Madden curse real? Perhaps.
Hurts could win MVP of the season is he stays on course this season. The combination of his record (4-1) and overall TD count, smell high-end praise. If he doesn’t win MVP, he could very well win OPOY. After all, we already witnessed Saquon win OPOY.
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