Jalen Hurts is one of the most perplexing players in the NFL, a guy who’s won a Super Bowl and been to two, even being the best player on the field in both. He’s got a 56-22 regular season record as a starter, been to three Pro Bowls, and was the MVP runner-up in 2022. Yet, the football world still can’t quite put its finger on how good he is, and his recent rankings are fueling that fire.
From League MVP Contender to 56th Overall? What Happened
The numbers from this offseason are honestly wild. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler surveyed NFL execs, coaches, and front office personnel, and they collectively rated Hurts as the 17th-best quarterback in the league. Then, the NFL Network dropped its Top-100 players list, and Hurts checked in at No. 56 overall, the first Eagle to appear. Let’s talk about that trend for a second. Last year, after a Super Bowl victory where he was the game’s MVP, he was No. 19. The year before, he was No. 15. And following his incredible performance in that Super Bowl 57 loss, he was considered the third-best player in the entire league! That’s a serious slide, from the top three to No. 56 in just a couple of years. It really highlights how hard it is to get a handle on his game.
The Running Game Mystery: Why the Dip?
Here’s the thing: Jalen Hurts has never been the QB with the golden arm, not really. His incredible success over five years as a starter has always hinged on his dual-threat abilities, that ‘plus-one’ factor in the running game that covered up his limitations as a pure passer. And that’s totally fine! You compensate for what you lack, and for Hurts, that was always being a phenomenal runner. But last season, that part of his game just wasn’t there. In 16 starts, he ran for only 421 yards. That’s a 209-yard drop from 2024 and a massive 363-yard decrease from his all-time high of 784 yards rushing in 2021. His success rate as a runner fell to 50.5% in 2025, down from 55.3% in 2024 and 61.1% in 2023. He averaged a paltry 26.3 yards per game on the ground, way below his 42.0 average in 2024, and a far cry from the more than 50 yards a game he averaged in his first two full seasons.
When you look at him purely as a passer, the stats back up the “middling” assessment:
- 2022: Rate (101.5, 4th), Yards (3701, 10th), TDs (22, 14th), INT% (1.3, T-4), Succ% (46.4%, 13th)
- 2023: Rate (89.1, 20th), Yards (3858, 14th), TDs (23, T-13), INT% (2.8, 27th), Succ% (46.7%, T-13)
- 2024: Rate (103.7, 5th), Yards (2903, 20th), TDs (18, T-20), INT% (1.4, T-5), Succ% (46.6%, 16th)
- 2025: Rate (98.5, 12th), Yards (3224, 16th), TDs (25, T-9th)
This isn’t just about rankings, it’s about the very foundation of his game. If that incredible running threat isn’t there, and the passing numbers are just hovering in the middle, then how does he reclaim that top-tier status? It’s going to be something else to watch how he approaches this challenge this season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
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