There are NFL franchises that spend decades trying to find an elite young franchise quarterback.
It’s the hardest thing in football.
Trying to figure out how a 21- or 22-year-old college kid is going to handle a ton of money, moving to a new city, the inevitable media and fan criticism, learning a complex offense, dealing with blitzes he’s never seen, a new coaching staff … there’s a reason so many young quarterbacks don’t pan out. It’s almost impossible to figure this stuff out.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Eagles found that guy a few years ago. It really seemed like it.
Carson Wentz in 2017 looked every bit the franchise quarterback the Eagles had been looking for since they drafted Donovan McNabb 17 years earlier. Nine-game winning streak. Pro Bowler. MVP candidate. Huge role on the Eagles’ first championship team in more than half a century. He was 24 years old and looked unstoppable.
As recently as three years ago, Wentz led the Eagles to the playoffs and set a franchise record for passing yards in a season.
It fell apart for reasons we’ve all grown tired of discussing, but what’s really remarkable is that as difficult as it is to find that sort of elite young quarterback once, the Eagles have now done it twice in just a few years.
NFL
Jalen Hurts is a star.
He’s not just The Guy. He’s not just the Quarterback of the Future.
He’s a full-blown NFL superstar, and anybody who’s still babbling about his arm strength or how he hasn’t beaten any good teams or his decision-making or accuracy is just a hater who’s in denial and won’t admit what the rest of the world is seeing on a weekly basis.
The kid is one of the best quarterbacks in football.
Hurts’ four-touchdown masterpiece against the Steelers only put an exclamation point on what he's been doing all year.
Playing mistake-free football, winning football games however his team needs and putting up historic numbers.
Seven games in, Hurts is completing 67 percent of his passes and throwing for 257 yards per game with 10 passing touchdowns, six rushing touchdowns and a 105.0 passer rating.
Here’s a list of quarterbacks in NFL history who’ve been at 67 percent, 250 yards per game, 16 total touchdowns and two or fewer interceptions in a 7-0 start: Tom Brady, Jalen Hurts.
Here’s a list of QBs who’ve opened a season 7-0 before their 25th birthday: Dan Marino, Daunte Culpepper, Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts.
And here’s a list of QBs who’ve had at least 50 total touchdowns and 15 or fewer interceptions in their first 26 career starts: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts.
And a list of QBs who’ve averaged 12.4 yards per attempt and an interception every 50 or more attempts in their career: Jalen Hurts.
You get the point.
Hurts is off to one of the hottest starts to a career in NFL history. He’s doing things nobody has ever done. He’s playing at an elite level without making mistakes. He’s winning games by whatever means necessary. He’s reached an unprecedented level of consistency.
Seven games in, the Eagles are undefeated, and Hurts ranks fifth in the NFL in passer rating, fifth in total touchdowns, seventh in accuracy and second in interception ratio.
And here’s the craziest thing that’s easy to lose sight of.
He just turned 24. Heck, he’s younger than Kenny Pickett.
He’s just getting started.
And he keeps getting better, and that’s not going to stop. Because this kid is obsessed with improving, with addressing his deficiencies, with working tirelessly day after day no matter how brilliantly he plays.
Sunday may have been his finest performance yet, with four long touchdown passes, 285 passing yards, 68 percent accuracy, no turnovers once again and a 140.6 passer rating, highest by an Eagles QB since Nick Foles in the 2017 NFC Championship Game, highest in a regular-season game since Foles vs. the Packers at Lambeau in 2013.
It’s scary to think where this is all headed. If he’s improved this much from last year to this year, where will he be next year? What about in three years? Five years?
His ceiling is undefinable. His future is unimaginable. His potential is limitless.
At some point, Hurts will have a poor game. He’ll throw a couple interceptions. The Eagles will lose.
But those days will be the exception. Because the Jalen Hurts we’re seeing now is playing at a truly mind-blowing level. Week after week of magic.
It’s not a fluke. It’s not an accident.
This is who he is. And, man, it’s fun to watch.
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube