Philadelphia Eagles owner gives definitive take on Jalen Hurts future
Jalen Hurts has been thrown into the media frenzy in the Wild West of NFL quarterbacks in a 2022 offseason where it feels like nobody is safe, development isn’t always considered, and seemingly in the blink of an eye, another NFL team makes a change at the most important position at any time.
On Tuesday — with so much chatter about the Eagles’ plans in next month’s NFL Draft and varying opinions on the former Alabama and Oklahoma star from various talent evaluators, experts and people within the organization — Philadelphia owner Jeffrie Lurie took the step to make a statement about the current starter of his franchise.
“We have a young, 23-year-old, playoff QB who gets better every year in college and in the pros,” the Eagles owner said.
“He’s had really one full year. No one knows where that’s going to end up but I think what you do know is you have a guy that is incredibly dedicated, excellent leader of men. Players around him gravitate to him. He will do anything and everything to get better and work on every weakness he has to try to maximize every strength he has. And that’s why we are committed to Jalen at age 23. Who knows what the future holds, right?”
Right now — even if Philly makes a move to add a QB in the draft — Lurie has left no room for doubt. It’s Jalen Hurts’ job to lose or run with. The answer felt real, honest and straight forward, as it’s clear Hurts is the plan for now but the team will continue to explore options in the instance the former Oklahoma Sooners passer proves he isn’t the right choice.
Jalen Hurts threw for 3,144 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding another 784 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.
His play was good enough to help the Eagles make a late run and sneak into the wild card round of the NFL Playoffs. The first-year head coach and his first-year starting QB finished with a 9-8 record, and in normal NFL circumstances, that’s exactly the kind of start owners want to see and build on.
How is Hurts still a mystery to so many?
The Eagles have three picks in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft, but Kiper admitted that debating on whether or not to stick with Jalen Hurts was “a tricky one.”
“That’s a tricky one,” Kiper said when asked about Hurts. “Jalen Hurts has shown signs of being a really good dual-threat quarterback, but his passing skills need to keep improving, seeing the field, being more accurate, precise. Certainly, a late-second round pick was what he was for a reason. But he’s a great kid, he works as hard as anybody. He gives you the multiple dimension as far as running and passing.”
Unlike Mac Jones, or Trevor Lawrence — both first year starters in the NFL in 2021 — Hurts continues to get questioned by Eagles fans, outsiders and intelligent members in sports me dia.
Sure, the Eagles young signal caller wasn’t a rookie last season, but like Jones and Lawrence, he was the full-time starter in the NFL for the first time. In a head-to-head comparison based on the common key stats used to judge quarterback play in the NFL, Hurts outperformed Lawrence in every main category other than total passing yards.
Trevor Lawrence vs. Jalen Hurts 2021 stats
- completion percentage (Hurts 61.3, Lawrence, 59.6)
- yards/attempt (Hurts 7.3, Lawrence 6.0)
- total passing yards (Hurts, 3,144, Lawrence 3,641)
- passing touchdowns (Hurts 16, Lawrence 12)
- rushing touchdowns (Hurts 10, Lawrence 2)
- rushing yards (Hurt 784, Lawrence 334)
- interceptions (Hurts 9, Lawrence 17)
- sacked (Hurts 26, Lawrence 32)
Jones, another former Alabama quarterback who proved to be NFL ready and emerged as the clear best rookie QB of 2021 and even got to go to the Pro Bowl after putting together a season slightly better, but similar to Jalen Hurts on the stat sheet.
The New England Patriots QB threw for more yards, touchdowns and his completion percentage of 67.6 was a touch better than Jalen Hurts (61.3), but Jones thew more interceptions was sacked more and the two young passers shared the exact number when it came to yards per attempt (7.3).
There are zero rumors involving potentially moving on from Lawrence or Jones and like most cases in the NFL, they are chalked into the category of young talented quarterbacks working through the growing pains and getting better. Both are clearly the plan to be the franchise QB for their respective teams, yet Jalen Hurts still remains a mystery for some.
Why is there any difference?
Only Lurie and the Philly staff truly know if they believe Jalen Hurts is the long-term answer, but now the always humble quarterback has heard it from both his head coach and the owner. He is the starting quarterback for the Eagles as of now.