It’s a week now since ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler put out his exhaustive annual work on how NFL executives, coaches and scouts view quarterbacks. It’s a provocative, thankless, comprehensive look at what decisionmakers feel.
Somehow, someway, Jalen Hurts fell from No. 9 in 2025 to No. 17 in 2026.
There is no question that Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford and Lamar Jackson are among the best in the NFL. But are Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Drake Maye, Jared Goff and Caleb Williams really
better than Hurts? Prescott, in terms of what he did last year (30 TDs vs. 10 INTs, 4,552 yards passing) has an argument. The others may not.
Let’s simplify things.
Let’s go with who of the previous 16 named above Hurts won more.
Of the 16 ranked above Hurts, only Mahomes, Stafford and Sam Darnold have won Super Bowls.
Hurts has a cumulative 22-13-1 record head-to-head against the previous 16 quarterbacks listed ahead of him. He is 5-3 in the postseason against those ahead of him and he’s a combined 8-2 against Stafford, Mahomes and Burrow.
You would think that would count for something, right?
Apparently, in the minds of some, winning does not.
It seems as if winning in this discussion goes ignored.
The Eagles were a one-dimensional team last season with an ailing offensive line, learning-as-he-went offensive coordinator and conservative approaches in the second half of games and still finished 11-6 and repeated as NFC East champions, the first team to do so in 21 years. Hurts had a little something to do with that. He has had his issues, holding on to the ball too long, not trusting himself to throw in tight windows, and not trusting the playcalling.
Whether it is his choice to limit the times he runs on designed plays, or the coaching staff’s decision in trying to preserve him, it has not helped his overall development.
We’re counting on an even year in the decade of the 2020s, and each time Hurts has been a starter in an even year of the 2020s, the Eagles have reached the Super Bowl (losing in 2022 and winning in 2024). Much of the Eagles’ 2026 success will rely on how well Hurts plays under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion—and how well he plays, if willing, under center.
Hurts already has a pile of motivation to succeed this season. He will soon be up for another contract extension. The Eagles have not budged yet on that. It is a bottom line that refuses to go away: Hurts has no guaranteed salary in 2028. And there is no indication a contract extension is imminent.
Hurts has a 57-25 career record in six years as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Donovan McNabb was 92-49-1 in 11 years with one losing Super Bowl appearance. Randall Cunningham was 63-43-1 in 11 years with no Super Bowls.
In the last four years Hurts has started, the Eagles have produced more victories than they ever have in any four-year span (50) in the history of the franchise—including two Super Bowls, winning one, over Reid’s 2000-2003 (46) or 2001-2004 (48) teams, or Ryan’s 1988-1991 (41) or 1989-1992 (42) teams.
Winning must count for something. It’s all Hurts has done.
