Two months out from the 2026 season, the Philadelphia Eagles are still trying to figure out what went wrong last year. It ended with a home wild-card loss to the 49ers, which was ugly. But before that, the whole 2025 season felt off. And now there’s a new talking point that has fans fired up.
ESPN polled NFL executives, scouts and coaches on quarterbacks around the league and slotted Jalen Hurts at No. 17. That’s not great for a guy who took the Eagles to a Super Bowl two years ago. Fans predictably lost it online. But maybe the ranking isn’t as outrageous as it looks.
Eliot Shorr-Parks from 49WIP.com threw out two thoughts on X that actually make sense. First, Hurts deserves to be ranked higher when you consider what he’s already done in this league. He’s won games, he’s been an MVP candidate, he’s led deep playoff runs. So yeah, he has a right to feel slighted. Second though, if every NFL quarterback were thrown into a re-draft right now, No. 17 might be about right. Shorr-Parks basically said the first point is the one that matters more, and he’s probably correct about that too.
The thing is, Hurts had a rough 2025. The Eagles offense was a mess, at least compared to what they’d been doing. Accuracy issues popped up all season. The connection with A.J. Brown never really clicked, and now Brown is in New England after the Eagles traded him. Saquon Barkley couldn’t replicate his 2024 magic. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo got fired and Sean Mannion took over. It was a lot of things going sideways at once.
So there’s a real argument that a ranking this low doesn’t tell the full story of who Jalen Hurts is as a player. But it also doesn’t come out of nowhere based on last season alone. He’d probably admit that himself.
If nothing else, this gives Hurts something to prove heading into 2026. He’s been at his best when people count him out. Another season of doubt might be exactly the fuel he needs.
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