2016 AP SEC Newcomer of the Year, 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year, 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, 2016 First Team All-SEC, 2018 Sugar Bowl Outstanding Player Award, 2019 First Team All-Big 12, 2019 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
That is just a sample of Jalen Hurts’ accolades leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft. This should have warranted a first-round selection, right? How about his athleticism score of 85 at the NFL Combine, which placed him first out of all quarterbacks?
That was not enough for 31 NFL general managers, except one, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Howie Roseman, who had been scrutinized in prior years for being a “social media GM.” Howie took a risk on Hurts, making him the 21st pick in the second round, and would immediately catch heat for this pick.
Rookie Year
“Look, this is a horrible pick and it seriously has me questioning Howie Roseman’s ability to do his job. It’s picks like this where you really do wish you could put yourself inside a general manager’s head for five minutes, wander around for a bit, and understand what the heck he’s thinking. Because there was no logical reason for drafting Jalen Hurts here. None.”
That initial reaction from Philadelphia sports writer John Stolnis summed up how the majority of the fanbase felt about Jalen and Howie at that moment. Nearly five years later, and with Hurts taking the Eagles to their second Super Bowl in three years, no one feels that way anymore.
Hurts was brought into an extremely tumultuous locker room in 2020. The Eagles already had what everyone thought was their franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz. But Wentz had grown insecure, given the success of a prior backup, Nick Foles, who led the Eagles to Super Bowl victory just three seasons before as Wentz was sidelined with an injury.
“Carson was the captain of the cool kids table,” said an anonymous former Birds player. “He’d treat Jalen, really one of the best guys you would ever want to meet, like he wasn’t there. Jalen did his work. [Hurts] kept his head down and paid attention. [Wentz] wasn’t about to lift a finger to help him. What made us all laugh was he [Wentz] just got a boatload of cash. Why was he so insecure about Jalen? The other part of the problem was everyone liked Jalen. Not so much the other guy.”
Led by Carson Wentz, the Eagles were a complete dumpster fire that 2020 season. Wentz would only win three games as the starter while losing eight, throwing a horrid 15 interceptions against just 16 touchdowns (a TD-to-INT ratio of 2:1 is considered average). Hurts was named the starter in week 14 and performed well enough that the Eagles felt they had their new QB1 and quickly unloaded Wentz in the offseason.
Gaining Traction
In his first full season as a starter, Jalen Hurts would drag a pitiful Eagles roster to the playoffs. The only notable players on the roster were aging veterans Darius Slay and Jason Kelce, as well as developing rookie WR Devonta Smith. While they would end up getting blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round, one thing was clear – Jalen Hurts was legit.
A Star is Born
Now, with full faith in Hurts, the Eagles went all in. Howie Roseman would trade for superstar receiver A.J. Brown and bring back Philadelphia legend Jason Kelce on a one-year contract. Jalen would reciprocate this effort by having an MVP-level season, taking the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
Hurts passed for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns while only throwing six interceptions. He added over 700 yards on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns. Though he fell just short of Patrick Mahomes in both the MVP race and the Super Bowl, Hurts would have one of the greatest Super Bowl performances of all time, completing 27 out of 38 passes for over 300 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 70 yards and three touchdowns.
It was arguably the most complete Super Bowl performance ever, but today, it is mainly forgotten because the Chiefs ultimately won.
Super Bowl “Hangover”
Over the next two seasons, Jalen would continue to excel, while many commentators blasted the Eagles’ coaching staff for some of the worst offensive play-calling ever.
Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson ran a glorified high school offense, and the numbers show. On many occasions, they would draw three or four go routes on 1st and 10, leading to Hurts having to force the ball into tight coverage more than he should have to.
Hurts had an expected completion percentage of 61.3%. This put him at the second lowest of all qualifying quarterbacks, trailing only Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears. Hurts ultimately had a mediocre completion percentage of 65.4%, which looks bad on paper. But he had a +4.1% completion percentage above expectation, indicative of a quarterback that outperforms the playcalling.
Back to the Big Game
Back in the Super Bowl again this year, it feels like people continue to sleep on Jalen Hurts.
In the divisional round of the playoffs, Colin Cowherd ranked Hurts as the worst remaining QB. The media focus instead has gone to a running back for what feels like the first time in decades. And while Saquon Barkley has had a historic year, nothing should be taken from the Eagles QB.
Leading the Eagles’ offense to 55 points on the upstart Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game, Hurts put in an all-time performance. He finished that game with 20 completions on only 28 attempts, 246 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and a whopping three rushing touchdowns.
Stats rarely lie. Jalen Hurts has had two of the best performances of his young career on the biggest stage possible: two years ago in the Super Bowl and last week against the Commanders. There is no doubt that when the lights shine the brightest, Jalen Hurts is that guy.
Making two Super Bowls by the age of 26 is no coincidence. Making the playoffs in your first four years as a starter is no coincidence. Getting benched in the college championship game, riding that bench for almost the entire next season before getting subbed into the Orange Bowl, and leading your team to a win is, once again, in no way a coincidence.
On Feb. 9, and once again on the biggest stage in sports, Jalen Hurts appears set to once again prove everyone wrong, and cement himself in NFL history.
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