Eagles Jalen Hurts Sees Drastic Jump on Chris Simms’ QB Rankings
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ended any debate about whether he was the long-term answer at the position for the team by finishing second in NFL MVP voting this past season while helping Philly capture an NFC title.
Hurts -- as evidenced by the five-year, $255 million contract extension he signed this offseason -- also cemented himself as one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks in 2022. Even one of his long-time critics couldn't help but boost him following a spectacular third NFL season.
NBC's Chris Simms is in the process of unveiling his countdown of the top 40 quarterbacks in the sport, and as he winds down the list, revealed earlier this week that Hurts came in at No. 7:
“The ultimate gamer," Simms said of Hurts. "I think you could argue that he’s the best leader in football right now out of any position. When you watch him back, he makes the right decision almost every time he drops back to pass. He makes a lot of big-time throws and plays that are aggressive. He’s a game-changing runner."
In addition to rushing for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022, Hurts took a major step forward as a passer, throwing for 22 touchdown passes and 3,701 yards. The addition of A.J. Brown and continued presences of DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert certainly helped, but Hurts deserves credit for the leaps and bounds he's grown as a passer since being drafted as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2020.
Still, Simms believe that Hurts still has some room to grow as a passer, at least relative to other quarterbacks in the top 10.
"There’s another level he can go in the throwing department," Simms said. "His flaw was shown in the Super Bowl. It was a 10-point lead and they were the better team. A lot of quarterbacks, if they had been in that situation, would have been vilified."
While it may be true that some other quarterbacks would be vilified if their team blew a 10-point Super Bowl lead, Hurts completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown, while also adding three rushing touchdowns. Even when you consider Hurts' costly fumble in the second quarter, he played extremely well. The Eagles blowing a double-digit lead was more about the greatness of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes than anything. (OK, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon should probably be mentioned too.)
Hurts did come in below Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, which has drawn criticism from some. It's hard, though, to view ranking someone as the seventh-best quarterback in the NFL -- unless they are Mahomes -- as a dis.
Coming in at No. 7 feels especially complimentary from Simms when you consider that Hurts was ranked 25th on the same list a year ago. Prior to the 2021 season, Hurts didn't even crack the top 40, despite showing some positive signs in his rookie year. So to now be one spot above future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers represents a meteoric rise for Hurts.
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