Jalen Hurts may still be one of the NFL’s most recognizable quarterbacks, but the buzz around him has cooled a bit, and that showed up again in a ranking from the Eagles on Sports Illustrated staff.
Hurts landed at No. 9 on the outlet’s top 25 current Eagles list, a noticeable drop from last year, when he checked in at No. 5. That was already one spot higher than his 2024 placement, so the slide this time around is hard to miss.
The ranking came from Jeff Kerr, John McMullen, and Ed Kracz, who each submitted their own top 25 lists at the same time. The format gave first place one point, second place two points, and so on through 25 points for 25th, with the combined totals determining the final order. Hurts finished with 26 points.
Kracz was the most bullish on Hurts, slotting him sixth on his ballot. Kerr and McMullen both had the quarterback at No. 10.
That placement lines up with Kracz’s view that Hurts remains a top-10 quarterback in the league, even after ESPN’s survey of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts pushed him down to honorable mention. In Jeremy Fowler’s compilation, Hurts came in 17th overall, which sparked plenty of frustration among Eagles fans, especially given that he has already won a Super Bowl MVP and reached two Super Bowls.
The passing game was a mess last season, and the source material points to former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and receiver A.J. Brown as sharing in that blame. Even so, the season still marked a step back for Hurts in 2025.
He did throw a career-high 25 touchdown passes, but his rushing production dipped sharply. Hurts scored just eight rushing touchdowns, his fewest since becoming the full-time starter in 2021, and he ran for only 421 yards, also a career low by a wide margin.
There were still plenty of winning moments. Hurts threw only six interceptions and helped the Eagles pile up 11 more victories, bringing his total to 5. He has never finished a season with fewer than double-digit wins.
For now, the numbers and the rankings say the same thing: Hurts is still firmly in the conversation, but his standing is no longer quite as lofty as it was a year ago. Kracz clearly still trusts the quarterback, and there’s little reason to think Hurts won’t climb back up the Eagles on Sports Illustrated list next year.
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