Jalen Hurts has established himself as the Eagles’ starting quarterback and the three-year process could be featured as a ‘TED Talk’ or ‘Masterclass’ on perseverance, hard work, and trusting your process.
The former second-round pick went from potential career backup and fill-in for Carson Wentz to the most talked-about athlete in Philadelphia, and a legit MVP candidate.
Hurts recently made NFL history, and his 23 rushing touchdowns in his first 32 starts, the most in league history for a quarterback in that span.
In the win over the Giants, Hurts completed 21-of-31 passes for 217 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran for 77 yards on seven carries.
He’s now the only player in NFL history with at least 6,200 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in his first 32 NFL starts, and he recently became the 20th player with at least 200 passing yards, 75 rushing yards, two touchdown passes, and one touchdown run in the same game.
With Philadelphia headed to Chicago to face a similar player in Justin Fields, we’re looking at the three-year progression and Hurts’ first 32 starts.
Hurts in 2020
During his four starts in relief of Carson Wentz as a rookie, Hurts completed 52% of his passes for 1,061 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions. His 7.2 yards per attempt was impressive, but his accuracy issues were a major concern.
Hurts in 2021
In 15 starts during the 2021 season, Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes, good for 26th in the league.
Hurts had 3,144 passing yards, good for 21st in the league, ahead of Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, and Baker Mayfield.
As a rusher, Hurts’ 784 yards were good for No. 22 in the NFL, leading the Eagles and all NFL quarterbacks.
The potential was there as Hurts improved leaps and bounds n 2021, but he still needed to trust his eyes and improve the clock in his head. On several missed throws, Hurts didn’t trust his eyes and that cost him dearly in the Wild Card loss to Tampa.
Most troubling was Hurts’ penchant for escaping the pocket too early, and not tossing a laser-type throw when it was needed most.
That has changed.
Hurts after 32 NFL starts
Jalen Hurts: 133.2 passer rating on 10+ yard throws
Highest among all QBs 🚀 pic.twitter.com/U6s0JiSXlr
— PFF (@PFF) December 14, 2022
Hurts has appeared in 42 NFL games with 32 starts, and he’s now 21-11 after getting off to a 12-1 start this season.
An MVP candidate, Hurts is completing 68% of his passes for 3,157 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions.
Jalen Hurts has rushed for 59 first downs, 2nd-most in the NFL.
Jalen Hurts leads the NFL in passer rating (108.4).
The same human shouldn’t be able to do both of those things.
— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) December 14, 2022
Hurts has a 108.4 passer rating on the season, 8.1 yards per attempt and almost 13 yards per completion.
Comparing Hurts to his Peers in 2022
This season, Hurts is top 10 in several major categories:
Passing Yds
2022 NFL 3157 (10)
Passing TD
2022 NFL 22 (5)
Passer Rating
2022 NFL 108.4 (1/33)
Yds/Pass Att
2022 NFL 8.1 (2)
Adj Yds/Pass Att
2022 NFL 8.92 (2/53)
QBR
2022 NFL 70.4 (4/65)
Hurts contract
A 2020 second-round pick, Hurts signed a 4-year, $6,025,171 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $1,941,944 signing bonus, $2,825,815 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,506,293. In 2022, Hurts on the books with a base salary of $1,082,744 and a workout bonus of $75,000 while carrying a cap hit of $1,643,230 and a dead cap value of $970,972.
As a second-round pick, Hurts avoided the fifth-year option and has one year left on his deal.
Over his first two seasons, Hurts had a 59% completion percentage with 4,063 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 1,056 rushing yards.
Hurts, Josh Allen and Kyler Murray shared similar numbers over their first two years, with the Cardinals star initially being the more efficient passer.
Things have changed and so has Hurts’ value.
Using the franchise tag on Hurts after the 2023 season would cost the Eagles upwards of $40 million for the 2024 season.
Howie Roseman is about striking first, assuming that the Eagles’ third-year quarterback’s trajectory continues to rise. In that case, Philadelphia could be on the hook for even more than was initially guaranteed when they signed Carson Wentz to a new deal.
With Hurts leading the Eagles to the playoffs in back-to-back years while also vastly improving under center, he could land in the top five highest-paid signal-callers.
Sportac estimates Hurts’ current market value at $44.7 million per year, and, at six years, $268 million overall.
