Jalen Hurts needs to buckle up! A recent quarterback ranking might not sit well with Philadelphia Eagles fans, as Hurts fell out of ESPN’s top 10 and top 5 NFC annual positional quarterback rankings. However, this also didn’t impress the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver, James Jones.

In a recent episode of SPEAK on July 15, 2024, Emmanuel Acho, Dave Helman, and James Jones reacted to Hurts being left off the latest Top 5 NFC QB rankings. The rankings included Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, and Jordan Love. Hurts was notably absent from the list despite his impressive performances, including leading his team to the Super Bowl last year and the playoffs this year.

James Jones expressed his disagreement with Hurts’ exclusion. Although he admitted that Hurts might not be as good as the top 5 in terms of traditional pocket-passing skills, he suggested that the rankings must have focused strictly on these skills. Jones pointed out that the Eagles QB doesn’t play the quarterback position from the pocket like the five quarterbacks on the list.

He expressed, “…that’s what they have to be going off of. Because if you’re going off of winning, if you’re going off of what he does outside the pocket, if you’re going off of anything else, then like I said before, it’s highway robbery that he’s not on this list. So they are strictly going off of pocket quarterbacks.” Jones argued that if the rankings considered winning and performance outside the pocket, Hurts’ exclusion would be a major oversight.

After finishing as the MVP runner-up in 2022, Hurts posted “3858 passing yards, a 65.4% completion rate, and 23 passing touchdowns” in the 2023 season. So, the question is where did Hurts meet with a downfall?

Have we already seen Jalen Hurts’ best performance?

Jalen Hurts’ slight drop in performance is a major concern for the Eagles. Some fear his remarkable 2022 season might have been a one-time event he won’t repeat, which would be a big problem for the team, given his importance. However, it’s also possible that injuries and coaching issues were the main reasons for his 2023 struggles. Hurts’ knee injury impacted his running ability and passing accuracy. In addition, fans were particularly frustrated with the coaching, casting doubt on head coach Nick Sirianni’s future, as the team appeared to be ‘dysfunctioning.’

According to ESPN’s Tim McManus, other reasons include a “disconnect” between Hurts, Sirianni, and new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. Although Johnson’s promotion from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator seemed logical, it didn’t work out well for the team. Moreover, the declining performance on third-down conversion rates late in the season was another offensive issue for the Birds.

Now, Kellen Moore is running an almost entirely new offense. On the other hand, both Sirianni and Hurts face significant pressure to succeed, given the efforts to tailor the offense to Hurts’ strengths.