Over the last decade, we’ve seen exactly how Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts deals with adversity.
Every time it seems like Hurts is ready to be counted out, he bounces back. So why should 2026 be any different?
Following an offseason in which his ability as an NFL quarterback has been questioned in every way it possibly can, Hurts got his latest dish of ignominy served to him in the form of The Athletic’s annual position rankings, where he dropped 8 spots from the 2025 rankings to No. 17 in this year’s survey of 50 anonymous NFL executives and coaches.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and 3-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes took the No. 1 spot.
Hurts was placed in the Tier 2 category of quarterbacks — a group who can “carry his team sometimes, handles pure-passing situations in doses, has hole or two in his game.”
Hurts earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2022, is a 3-time Pro Bowler and has led his team to 2 Super Bowl appearances in the last 4 seasons, including being named Super Bowl MVP following the 2024 season.
“Hurts makes his fourth consecutive appearance in Tier 2, landing on the Tier 2-3 border after falling to his lowest average since 2022,” The Athletic’s Mike Sando wrote. “Trading away A.J. Brown removed a headache. It also took away the type of target voters saw as ideally suited for Hurts.”
Jalen Hurts: Not Into Making Excuses
While every season seems to have people jumping over themselves to pile on Hurts, we don’t get many glimpses into the extenuating circumstances when he does struggle. That’s because one thing you’ll never hear from Hurts is an excuse.
In 2024, when wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith complained about not getting the ball enough during a 10-game winning streak, we later found out Hurts had been playing with a broken finger on his non-throwing hand.
In 2025, things got worse. Brown’s complaints seemed to pile up by the week, and he was eventually traded to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2028 1st-round draft pick.
While everyone was complaining about Hurts, no one seemed to notice he was making NFL history.
After a Week 16 win over the Washington Commanders clinched the NFC East Division title for the Eagles — the first team to win consecutive NFC East titles in 2 decades — it marked the 5th consecutive season the Eagles were in the playoffs with Hurts as the starter.
“Jalen Hurts is the first QB in NFL History to clinch 4 consecutive playoff berths with 4 different offensive coordinators,” Eagles Fan Central wrote on X.
Hurts will get a chance to add to his record in 2026 after offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was fired and replaced with former NFL backup quarterback Sean Mannion.
Jalen Hurts Has Incredible Origin Story
For Hurts, the son of a Texas high school football coach, a lot of his drive to succeed goes back to a moment that would have broken most quarterbacks — when he was benched at halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship game by Alabama head coach Nick Saban and watched his backup, current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, rally the Crimson Tide to a win over SEC rival Georgia in overtime, including a game-winning touchdown pass to current Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Hurts, who was 23-1 as the starter and named SEC Offensive Player of the Year before he was benched, stayed at Alabama as Tagovailoa’s backup for another season.
He joined Oklahoma as a graduate transfer in 2019, where he led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff semifinals, was named an All-American and taken by the Eagles in the 2nd round (No. 53 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Plummets in Annual QB Rankings