Jalen Hurts is a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts attended Channelview High School in Texas. He was a powerlifter and a quarterback there, coached by his father in football. He was recruited by Alabama and signed to play quarterback for the Crimson Tide in 2016. Early in his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, Hurts became the first freshman quarterback to start for head coach Nick Saban. He finished that season with 35 total touchdowns - a school record - and led Alabama to the National Championship game. They lost 35-31 to Clemson.
Hurts began his sophomore seasons as the starter at Alabama and once again led the Tide to the national title game. He was benched at halftime in favor of Tua Tagovailoa, who then led the team to an overtime win. Hurts sat behind Tagovailoa his third season before transferring to Oklahoma for his final college season. In his senior season with the Sooners, he threw for 3,851 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, adding another 20 scores and 1,298 yards on the ground. He came in second in the Heisman Trophy voting that 2019 season, finishing behind Joe Burrow.
Jalen Hurts posted a 94th-percentile 40 time of 4.59 at the 2020 NFL Combine. He also measured at above-average hand size - 9 3/4-inches. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Hurts with the No. 53 overall pick. The selection was seen as something of a surprise, given the Eagles already appeared to have their long-term quarterback in Carson Wentz.
Hurts got his chance to start as a rookie after Wentz posted several poor performances. Hurts started the last four games of the 2020 season, rushing for 106 yards in his first career start against the Saints. In those four games, however, he never completed more than 56.7-percent of his passes. In 2021, he improved his completion rate to 61.3-percent, finishing with 3,144 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Hurts was not afraid to throw deep, averaging 9.0 Air Yards per attempt and finishing No.15 with 62 Deep Ball Attempts. But he was not at his best when under pressure, as evidenced by a 38.9-percent (No. 25) Pressured Completion Rate. Hurts was also hampered by his receiver corps, who dropped 30 passes throughout the season (No.10). He finished just No. 31 in True Passer Rating at 65.5, but he was No. 19 with a 48.8 QBR. Hurts remained a factor in the ground game in 2021, leading all quarterbacks with 140 rushing attempts, 782 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns. He led all NFL quarterbacks in 2021 with 0.70 Fantasy Points Per Dropback.
Following the 2021 season, it was unclear whether Hurts would be the Eagles’ starter in the following season. Hurts ended up starting 15 games in 2022, sidelined only by a shoulder sprain that kept him out for two games. He also led the team to a 14-3 regular season record, and on to the Super Bowl. The Eagles lost to the Chiefs in the big game, but Hurts solidified himself as the team’s franchise quarterback. He signed a 5-year, $255 million dollar contract in the offseason. With an elite pass-catching unit consisting of A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, Hurts became one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. He posted a 97.8 (No. 4) True Passer Rating and an 8.0 (No. 6) Accuracy Rating in 2022, to go along with 760 (No. 4) rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles came down to earth hard in the second half of the 2023 season. After a 10-1 start, they lost five of six to close the regular season, and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by a Baker Mayfield-led Bucs team. Hurts continued to amass production on the ground, rushing for another 605 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was competent as a passer, as well, but the wheels fell off at the end of the season and the Eagles failed to reach the heights to which they soared the previous season.
