Coming off a stellar season in 2023, Jalen Hurts was believed by many to be becoming one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Not only did he finish second in MVP voting in 2023, but he also led the Eagles to the Super Bowl with a tremendous season through the air and on the ground. At this time last season, PFF ranked Jalen Hurts as the seventh-best quarterback in the NFL ahead of the 2023 season. Yet, he didn’t quite back up the hype this past season. He struggled with turnovers and generally was missing opportunities last year that he didn’t in 2022. He still had some explosive plays and moments but could never quite find the consistency that fans expected. With that in mind, he fell in this year’s iteration of the PFF quarterback rankings, landing at number nine.
Jalen Hurts Ranks as the Third Best Quarterback in the NFC from PFF
Relative Ranking
All six of the quarterbacks that were ranked ahead of Hurts after 2022 remain ahead today. Those players include Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Aaron Rodgers. Hurts was the number one quarterback in the NFC according to PFF ahead of the 2023 season. However, two NFC quarterbacks have passed him ahead of the 2024 season: the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott and the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford. Prescott jumped up four spots from tenth last year to sixth this year. Stafford jumped from 12 to seven this year after a surprisingly great season for the Rams and himself in 2023. While Hurts regressed in 2023, Prescott and especially Stafford improved in 2023. This has made the title of the best quarterback in the NFC a more contested debate.
Jalen Hurts’ 2023 Season
PFF’s ranking this year was done by NFL and NFL Draft expert Trevor Sikkema. He wrote a blurb explaining the rankings of each quarterback and his blurb about Hurts summed up his 2023 season. Sikkema writes, “It was a roller coaster of a year for Hurts, who set career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and big-time throws, but also career highs in interceptions and lost fumbles.” Hurts’ pure stat production cannot be fully overlooked, but the mistakes Hurts made throughout the season contributed heavily. His errors and missed opportunities put the offense in a bind for more games to make big plays and chase games from behind. Hurts still had enough glimpses and stretches of high-level play to keep him out of the top ten or twelve quarterbacks, but there needs to be improvement in 2024.
Sikkema also shares the sentiment that while 2023 wasn’t Jalen Hurts’ year, he still is a major threat. Sikkema writes, “It wasn’t as efficient or explosive a season as his 2022, but Hurts remains a constant threat from the position.” It’s far from time to panic about Jalen Hurts. However, fans will want more consistency from him, even at some cost of the explosiveness of the offense. Replacing Brian Johnson for Kellen Moore as the new offensive coordinator will help the offense be less stagnant. However, everyone will be expecting and wanting a big bounce-back year from Hurts.
Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
