Jalen Hurts' Legs Could Lift Him Up in Offseason QB Rankings

In four starts last year, the Eagles QB was on pace to become the NFL's first single-season 4,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard runner

PHILADELPHIA - Offseason quarterback rankings have not been kind to the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

Chris Simms, a mostly bust of a third-round pick as an NFL quarterback, who now analyzes quarterbacks, didn’t deem Hurts worthy enough to put him in his own top 40 that was released last month.

There are 32 starters in the NFL, and Hurts couldn’t crack the top 32, per Simms, who probably wouldn’t have been ranked inside the top 40 during his fleeting five-year career during which he went 7-9 as a starter with 12 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, and a career completion percentage of 58.1.

In his rookie season, Hurts completed just 52 percent of his throws, a stark drop from his four college seasons when he completed 65.1 percent of his passes. Last year, he threw for 1,061 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 354 yards with a 5.6 yards per carry average and three touchdowns.

Still, Simms wasn’t impressed.

Neither was Pro Football Focus which ranked him 31st among all 32 perceived starters, only one spot ahead of the Broncos QB Drew Lock.

Here’s the kicker, though. If you project Hurts’ numbers over a full 17-game season, he will throw for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards.

No quarterback in NFL history has ever done that.

Lamar Jackson in 2019 came the closest among the 1,000-yard rushing QBs with 3,127 yards passing.

Cam Newtown in 2011 came the closes to of the 4,000-yard passers with 706 yards rushing.

Expect the Eagles to take advantage of Hurts’ arm, and particularly his legs.

"I think anytime you've got a quarterback that's got legs, and he's a threat in that direction, the defense has to honor in some capacity,” said Eagles passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo. “So they're going to be limited in some areas, too. And some things that they may have done against a different quarterback, they're probably not going to do to you.

“So, there are certain things you can do going into a game knowing, OK, we're going to get this, probably not this, or this is something they've done in the past to a running quarterback or a guy that can make plays if the pocket breaks down. So, there's a way you can game plan and kind of use that to help you and help the player."

In Hurts' final college season, he ran for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns in the offense of Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. In his four college seasons, the first three of which were with Alabama, Hurts ran for 3,274 and a 5.3 YPC average with 43 TDs.

The key to Hurts proving to the Eagles’ front office that he can be the QB of the future, however, can be summed up in one word – improvement.

He must be better than last year.

Brian Baldinger was broadcasting Hurts’ first start against the New Orleans Saints and Hurts abused the playoff-bound team that day, running for 106 yards and passing for 167 in an upset 24-21 win.

“He led that team against a really good team,” said Baldinger. “That was a high point right away. The Eagles are struggling, they beat the Saints at home, it was a great day. Then there were some weaknesses you saw the next three games - he was reading the rush, his eyes weren’t down the field. Look, he’s got four starts to his name and he’s as green as they come, but just knowing him a little bit, he wants to be coached hard, like, coach him.

“The only guy he says, even with Doug (Pederson), and Nick Saban, he said the only one who coached (him) to be a better quarterback was Lincoln Riley and obviously Lincoln’s had a lot of success with these quarterbacks.”

Hurts will try to follow in the improvement steps that Riley’s previous QBs, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, are currently making in the NFL.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.