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Dan Orlovsky gave an elite ranking take on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Houston native has been doubted throughout his career as a good-but-not-great leader under center, since he's been in the national spotlight at just 18 years old. While the public has seen all the ups and downs throughout Hurts' career, Jalen proved many doubters wrong throughout the 2024 season, culminating in him winning Super Bowl MVP against the Kansas City Chiefs.
That performance on the game's biggest stage has sparked a debate on where Hurts ranks among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Often, Jalen was viewed as a product of the great team around him, rather than as a terrific individual player. Recently, former NFL MVP Cam Newton took a bold stance, suggesting that the Eagles' leader under center is not a top-10 quarterback in the league. Orlovsky gave an almost opposite reaction to this debate in a recent video on Twitter, instead comparing Hurts to the likes of Patrick Mahomes.
“Jalen Hurts is the quarterback you have to go through in the NFC to win the Super Bowl. You have to go through Jalen Hurts. Whether you think he’s Top 5 in the league at the position, Top 7, Top 10, Top 12, whatever, you have to go through Hurts to win the Super Bowl. If we’re constantly going to talk about in relation to the AFC that Burrow is amazing, Lamar’s incredible, Josh is outstanding, but you've got to go through Patrick, it’s the same to be said about Jalen Hurts in the NFC.”
The Eagles have now made it to the Super Bowl in two out of the last three years. Hurts has been the starting quarterback for the past four seasons, has been named to two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team, while leading the City of Brotherly Love to its second title ever. Eagles fans know well enough that even when Hurts has not been at his best, he brings extra credentials both on and off the field as a leader that further enhance his value. That's probably his most undervalued intangible, as well as the tangible improvement he has shown every year since 2016.
Overall, Hurts continues to break through the glass ceiling that critics have previously placed on him. And it's fair to assume that he'll do the same in 2025. While the Eagles' upcoming schedule is not easy, the NFC still runs through them until some other team takes the crown. With Hurts at the helm, it'll be very tough to do so, especially if critics continue to help him build that already huge chip on his shoulder.
