The national narrative around Jalen Hurts is changing and nothing shows that the Eagles signal-caller has arrived more than Pro Football Focus showing some respect.
Hurts started the preseason out as a bottom thirty quarterback in late August rankings, but after his Week 1 performance against the Falcons, the second-year star is trending in the top five, landing at No. 4.
You might be wondering why Winston, who had the highest per-play grades and EPA in Week 1, isn’t located at the top of the rankings. The answer is as simple as his lack of sample size. Winston only played 24 passing snaps, versus 41 plays for Teddy Bridgewater, who occupies the top spot. Bridgewater is in a new location but looks ripe for regression going forward, given that he has the 26th-best career Bayesian ranking in the group.
Brady, Hurts, and Patrick Mahomes round out the top five, with Brady having the biggest divergence between grades and EPA. Brady’s Bayesian grade estimate is higher than anyone else after finishing with the second-highest number on a per-play basis and being involved in a substantial 50 plays in Week 1. Mahomes and Brady have the top two career rankings, so it isn’t a fluke that they’re already near the top of the board.
The next closest NFC East quarterback on the list was Dak Prescott landing at No. 14 in the Week 1 ranking after an impressive return against the defending champion Buccaneers.
Hurts was efficient on first downs, late downs, and while also making the necessary plays from a clean pocket and under pressure.
