Jalen Hurts’ offseason rankings are all over the place, from top 5 quarterback to nowhere to be found

The upside to being a quarterback for one of the most all-around talented teams in the league: You don’t have to win alone. The downside: You’re constantly reminded of that same thing.

With the NFL season quickly approaching, insiders and experts are filling the football void by ranking NFL players by their individual positions, with none more controversial than quarterback. While Jalen Hurts is included in most top-10 lists — after a season that saw him play in his second Super Bowl in two years, earn Super Bowl MVP, and deliver another Lombardi Trophy to the city of Philadelphia — there was a feeling among some analysts that Hurts was simply the beneficiary of the talented offense around him.

Many Eagles fans stood up for the quarterback in the face of some less-than-stellar rankings, including one that had Hurts outside the top 13. But not all were enough to send Birds fans spiraling.

» READ MORE: LeSean McCoy’s future at Fox unclear after network cancels multiple FS1 shows

Here’s a roundup of some of Hurts’ offseason rankings — the good, the bad, and the rage inducing — and some examples of how Eagles fans reacted …

On Chris Simms Unbuttoned, the NBC analyst, known to have a history of undervaluing Hurts, ranked his top quarterbacks in the league earlier in the summer and placed Hurts at No. 10. This is the third consecutive year in which Hurts was featured in Simms’ list, and each year he has fallen further down the list.

“There’s a reason he’s at No. 10,” Simms said. “There’s still flaws in his football game that need to be addressed, need to be fixed. They win the game still with him not playing perfect. … There’s no quarterback in football that has more advantages on the field at the position than Jalen Hurts. They’re a super team and that’s not a shot on him, but he gets the advantages of not having to worry about all these other things, right? And with all the greatness of the Philadelphia Eagles, he cannot play great and they can still win. He gets a lot of great looks on defenses where I go, ‘Wait, no one would ever play this defense against Lamar [Jackson] or [Patrick] Mahomes or anybody like that.’”

» READ MORE: Eagles coach Nick Sirianni on ‘sustained success’ and what’s driving him after the Super Bowl win

Hurts was placed below Baker Mayfield (No. 9), Justin Herbert (No. 8), C.J. Stroud (No. 7), Matthew Stafford (No. 6), and Jayden Daniels (No. 5). The list comes as a surprise to most fans, who are starting to believe it could be something personal for Simms.

If placing Hurts at No. 10 felt low, fans couldn’t have been ready for SBNation‘s ranking, the lowest of any for the Super Bowl MVP because, well, there wasn’t one.

When the site revealed its top 10 quarterback rankings, including three honorable mentions, Hurts was nowhere to be found. Instead, quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, and Dak Prescott were placed above him in the top 10, with Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels, and Jared Goff listed as honorable mentions.

“It was a struggle picking between Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels and Jared Goff for this final spot, but I’m giving it to Stroud here,” wrote SBNation’s Joseph Acosta. “Despite all of the poor play calling and inconsistent protection around him, Stroud still helped guide this team to the second round of the playoffs again. His poise and accuracy from the pocket make him a dangerous passer, even if he isn’t super explosive outside the pocket or with his legs.”

The most recent ranking comes from ESPN, where Hurts was ranked at No. 9 in its annual poll voted on by anonymous NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.

“The question isn’t whether Hurts belongs in the top 10 — he undoubtedly does,” wrote ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “It’s whether he has the ability from the pocket to vault into the top five eventually, as his Super Bowl pedigree would suggest he could.”

» READ MORE: He helped run the Vet for 20 years. Now, pieces of it are in his Delco garage: ‘It was a place I grew to love.’

Quarterbacks like Jared Goff (No. 8), Justin Herbert (No. 7), Matthew Stafford (No. 6), and Jayden Daniels (No. 5) are ranked above Hurts. Although Hurts barely cracked the top 10, Fowler made an interesting comparison to a former Super Bowl champ.

“More than a few voters see shades of a Russell Wilson career arc,” Fowler added. “Hurts has many traits that contribute to winning at a high level but needs a steady running game around him and wouldn’t necessarily thrive in a pass-heavy system.”

The hate is even starting to make Kansas City Chiefs fans stick up for him.

While that ninth ranking might not be what Eagles fans wanted to see, it is an improvement from his place among the honorable mentions last year.

Not all the rankings left Eagles fans upset. Bleacher Report ranked Hurts as a top-five quarterback, with only Patrick Mahomes (No. 4), Joe Burrow (No. 3), Lamar Jackson (No. 2), and Josh Allen (No. 1) above him. But even in its review of Hurts, it pointed to the boost he gets from having high-end skill players and a top offensive line.

“He may be far from your typical franchise quarterback, and it’s fair to wonder just how effective he’d be without such a dominant supporting cast, but Jalen Hurts has become one of the most uniquely productive offensive players in the sport,” wrote Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon. “The 26-year-old may have thrown just 18 regular-season touchdown passes, but he was a top-five-rated passer who scored 14 times as a rusher and generated more than 600 rushing yards and double-digit rushing touchdowns for the fourth year in a row.”

» READ MORE: Bills tackle Dion Dawkins on pushing for O-lineman award, fond memories of Temple

Pro Football Focus ranked Hurts as a No. 5 quarterback; however, he was placed in the high-end starters category. Above him, in the elite category, was Josh Allen (No. 4), Lamar Jackson (No. 3), Joe Burrow (No. 2), and Patrick Mahomes (No. 1).

“Jalen Hurts’ 2024 campaign — capped by an impressive Super Bowl run — was a return to form after a turbulent 2023 season,” wrote PFF’s John Kosko. “A year earlier, Hurts too often pressed in high-leverage moments and struggled under pressure, but he flipped the script this past season, showing poise and control even when things broke down around him. After a slow start, he found his rhythm and delivered when it mattered most. Over the past three seasons, his 91.5 overall grade ranks fifth among all quarterbacks.”

Pro Football Focus also revealed a ranking of the top returning head coaches. Nick Sirianni, someone else who is quite familiar with criticism, was ranked No. 8 on the list. Kyle Shanahan (No. 7), Jim Harbaugh (No. 6), and Mike Tomlin (No. 5) were all ranked above him.

Some fans are in agreement with PFF, while others think he should be placed higher.