As soon as Cam Newton made it clear that he doesn’t consider Jalen Hurts a top 10 quarterback, he braced for the potential response coming his way from Philadelphia Eagles fans.
“I know everybody is going to get mad at this,” Newton said on ‘4th & 1 with Cam Newton.’ “Cam is hating on Jalen Hurts,” he said in a mocking tone.
The former Carolina Panthers quarterback went on to explain his reasoning behind his personal ranking, which doesn’t favor the Super Bowl MVP.
“It’s hard for me to grade Jalen Hurts with the talent that he has around him,” Newton explained.
“Jalen Hurts is a great quarterback, but if we’re talking about what they bring to the table, it’s hard to judge what Jalen Hurts can do when you’re throwing to a guy like AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, you have tight end skillset, you have a dominant defense, the best running back in the game. Download Madden and see how many stars are on the offensive side of Philly.”
Newton’s argument is far from out of the box. Since the Eagles have stacked their offense with talented weapons, Hurts has had a hard time escaping the narrative that he’s just a product of the guys around him. The Eagles’ passer falls under the “system quarterback” category, which is often used to discredit certain QBs.
When Newton looks at some of his top picks for the quarterback position, he considers players like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen elite. The primary argument was that Jackson and Allen have to rise above and play at an elite level just to get their teams to win. The former MVP doesn’t believe Hurts needs to do that.
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“Jalen Hurts does not have to play elite for the Philadelphia Eagles to win,” he said. “He has to play good—but he doesn’t have to play elite. We’re not asking you to win the game, we’re just asking you not to lose it.”
Despite the negative narratives that frequently float around Hurts, the Eagles’ quarterback has a very impressive resume at 26 years old. Since entering the NFL as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma, Hurts has spent the last four seasons as a full-time starter for the Eagles.
From an individual standpoint, Hurts’ best season was in 2022. He passed for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He rushed 165 times for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns. Hurts was an MVP candidate, but a late-season injury affected his standing.
In 2024, the Eagles dialed up a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley, which left Hurts throwing the ball for under 400 attempts for the first time since his rookie season. Although he threw for just 2,903 yards and 18 touchdowns in 15 games, Hurts had his most accurate season, posting his career-high passer rating at 103.7
When the playoffs came around, Hurts helped lead the Eagles to Super Bowl LIX, where they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. Hurts was the game’s MVP.
With two NFC Championship wins, a Super Bowl victory, Super Bowl MVP, two All-Pros, and two Pro Bowls, Hurts has a pretty decorated resume five years in. Yet, many arguments have been made to keep him out of the top 10 QBs who are currently active.
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