Players Rank Jalen Hurts The 15th Best Player In NFL
Jalen Hurts looked like an MVP in 2022. Last season was a slight regression. He was not terrible. After they beat the Bills to get to 10-1, he was the…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 21: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after rushing for a touchdown against the New York Giants during the second quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Jalen Hurts looked like an MVP in 2022. Last season was a slight regression. He was not terrible. After they beat the Bills to get to 10-1, he was the odds-on favorite to win MVP. But the final 6 games, plus the playoff loss, were ugly.
You'd think that collapse would damage Jalen Hurts's reputation around the league. But according to NFL.com's annual Top 100 Players list, he is still the 15th-best player in the league.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)How Did Jalen Hurts Land At 15?
The Top 100 is voted on every year by players around the league. I am not sure of the exact methodology, but NFL.com has random players vote to determine the top 100.
He is just a winner. It might look the prettiest, but he is just a winner.""- Jonathan Allen
Last season, after nearly winning the Super Bowl, Hurts was ranked the 3rd best. But after a down year, I expected a slight drop. I did not expect the drop to be this slight. At 15, the players still view him as one of the elite players. For bonus points, he was 1 spot ahead of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.
It is in sharp contrast to the ESPN survey of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts that ranked Hurts outside the top 10 of QBs. They had him as an honorable mention. But the players poll here has him ahead of several QBs the ESPN survey had above him, including Prescott, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jordan Love.
"He is a baller man. I think a lot of people sleep on his ability to just ball"- Jordan Poyer
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)It may seem a bit crazy, but if you remember how great he was in the Super Bowl, it is not that insane. He was tremendous, nearly flawless, in the 2022 season, and then arguably played better than Mahomes in the Super Bowl. If his defense got a single stop in the 2nd half, he might already be a champion. He was also considered an MVP candidate until week 13 last season.
Hurts is still an incredible talent. He had a down year, but so did many other Eagles. With Kellen Moore in town, and perhaps the best-supporting cast in the NFL around him, he has a chance to be very special this season. Maybe this time next year he will be back in the top 10.
Other Eagles to appear so far in the Top 100 include Devonta Smith (90), Saquon Barkley (86), Lane Johnson (41), and AJ Brown (21). The top 10 has not been released yet.
