The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the best teams in the NFL throughout the 2022 season. That was punctuated by a trip to the Super Bowl, where they fell just short against the Kansas City Chiefs, losing 38-35.
A big reason that the Eagles found so much success was the performance of quarterback Jalen Hurts. Philadelphia made a splash during the 2022 NFL Draft, trading one of their first-round picks to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for wide receiver A.J. Brown, who helped elevate the offense as much as the team had hoped.
With a true No. 1 to complement 2021 first-round pick DeVonta Smith, Hurts took off as a passer. He set career highs across the board, quieting all of the doubters who didn’t believe he could succeed at the next level other than as a runner.
His performance not only helped the Eagles re-establish themselves as perennial contenders but landed him his first Pro Bowl nomination as well. Had he not missed two games because of injury, Hurts very likely would have won the MVP award; he ended up finishing second behind Patrick Mahomes, who also won the Super Bowl MVP.
Despite that Hurts still doesn’t seem to get the recognition some believe he deserves. His tight end, Dallas Goedert, recently went on the Pardon My Take podcast and shared that he believes Hurts is a top-two quarterback in the NFL.
“I think Jalen has to be at the top,” Goedert said. “If you don’t, you’re just trying to use his name. You can say he’s got good talent around him. No, he’s a dog. He’s really good. I think he should be top three, top two. It’s hard to take anything away from Patrick (Mahomes). You go down that list and there’s probably 10 quarterbacks that could be in the top five. Depends on what fan base you are. But personally speaking, Jalen is in the top two.” (H/T Kevin Patra of NFL.com)
There is a little bit of bias there, as Hurts is teammates with Goedert. But, we have seen that it does not matter; just ask Kirk Cousins about how he felt when Justin Jefferson revealed his list of top quarterbacks in the league, leaving his own teammate off the list entirely.
It is a question that will spawn multiple different answers, so why not back your guy? While other people may not see Hurts that way, the Eagles certainly do.
This offseason they worked out a massive extension for Hurts, committing to him as their franchise quarterback. His $255 million deal was the largest in NFL history before Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens trumped it.
