The more things change, the more they stay the same. Well, not everything.
Jalen Hurts has been among the best quarterbacks in the game in his brief career, particularly over the past three seasons. This is not an arguable point. Unless, of course, you are NBC NFL analyst Chris Simms.
All Hurts has done since the start of the 2022 season is win 43 games, including postseason, take his team to two Super Bowls, and win one of them. Prior to the last five seasons, Simms has released his own Top 40 QBs List during the offseason. Leading up to that 2022 season, Simms had Hurts ranked 25th. Not great, but you could argue that Hurts hadn’t accomplished much to that point.
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SIGN UP HERE After taking the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2022, Simms moved Hurts up to seventh. In 2023, Hurts and the Birds started 10-and-1 before collapsing. Simms ranked him ninth.
Surely, after winning football’s holy grail, for dominating Patrick Mahomes and the seemingly unbeatable Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, that Simms would see the error of his ways. He would make up for his disrespect of previous seasons and rank Hurts at or near the top, right? Right??!?
Tenth. Yes, really.
While we don’t officially know yet who the top four QBs are (very likely Mahomes, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, and Cincy’s Joe Burrow in some order), the rankings are out from 40-to-5, with 10-through-5 released today:
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5. Jayden Daniels, Commanders
6. Matthew Stafford, Rams
7. C.J. Stroud, Texans
8. Justin Herbert, Chargers
9. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers
10. Jalen Hurts
Hurts is 1-1 in Super Bowls already, along with a Super Bowl MVP award. The five QBs ranked 9-to-5 have combined for one Super Bowl (Stafford).
Here is what Simms had to say about the 10th-ranked QB:
“The Super Bowl champ, the Super Bowl MVP. Really kind of an incredible year when you really think about it. The ultimate leader, that’s the first thing I’ll say. He’s tough, he’s the same guy all the time. He can handle the Philadelphia criticism good or bad and seems to take it all in stride. He brings a skillset to [the Eagles’] offense that makes them almost indefensible with all the talent they have. What he brings to the table puts it over the top to where you’re just like, ‘Oh my God, what do we defend?’”
Following a “really kind of an incredible year,” and using a skill set that makes his team “almost indefensible,” Simms ranked Hurts behind two quarterbacks who are 0-2, and 2-3 in postseason starts, and neither has even taken a snap in a conference championship game.
If we know anything about Hurts, and how he uses doubt in his abilities as fuel, the rest of the NFL is in for it now.