Eagles' 12 most intriguing No. 2: Why Jalen Hurts is respected by Michael Jordan, not NFL
Instead, Hurts was often called a "game manager" last season when the Eagles won the Super Bowl, benefitting from running back Saquon Barkley's 2,000-yard season, a dominant offensive line and defense, and star wide receivers.
In some ways, the stats back the critics up.
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Hurts threw for less than 200 yards six times in the 14 full games that he played in during the regular season, finishing with 2,903 yards passing. That was the fewest in Hurts' four full seasons as a starter. He threw for less than 200 yards twice more in the playoffs.
Then again, the Eagles were 7-1 in those games.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni called the game manager label, "bull(expletive)," then said Hurts "plays the most important position in sports," and that Hurts is perfectly suited to throw the ball or hand the ball off, or keep it himself.
"What I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win," Sirianni said.
Perhaps that's why NBA legend Michael Jordan, for one, thinks so highly of Hurts. As part of the Jordan brand, Hurts was invited to Greece recently to participate in Jordan's "Board of Greatness."
Hurts has said this spring that he has talked with Jordan and Yankees legend Derek Jeter, among others, about having a winning mindset.
So perhaps we're looking at Hurts all wrong. He'll never break Brady's career passing records, or even match Mahomes, who has twice surpassed 5,000 yards passing in his seven seasons as a full-time starter, and 4,000 in six of those seven.
But like Mahomes and Brady, Hurts wins. That goes back to his true freshman year at Alabama, when he led the Crimson Tide to the national championship, then transferred to Oklahoma as a senior and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff.
That's why Hurts is No. 2 on our list of 12 most intriguing Eagles heading into the start of training camp on July 22. We're counting them down each weekday from No. 12 to No. 1. The series began July 7 and will culminate with the start of camp.
It's always been about winning with Hurts, and it doesn't matter what it looks like.
Sometimes, it can look downright ugly, like when Hurts threw for 108 yards in an unimpressive 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers last Dec. 8. After the game, star wide receiver A.J. Brown said one word when asked what has to improve: "Passing."
The next week, Hurts threw for 290 yards in a rout over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the Super Bowl, when the Chiefs held Barkley to 57 yards on 25 carries, Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards as the Eagles built a 34-0 lead on their win to a 40-22 win.
Hurts was named the game's MVP.
Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book
Hurts has done this despite being on his fifth offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as he enters his sixth NFL season. This season, Hurts has a new offensive coordinator in Kevin Patullo, who's replacing Kellen Moore, and a new QB coach in Scot Loeffler, who's taking over for Doug Nussmeier.
"There is a dynamic of adaptability that you have to be able to have and find success regardless of what the leadership looks like, what the voice is, who's in the quarterback room coaching me or who's out there calling plays," Hurts said.
"So that's really where I put my energy at trying to decode these things and figure it out on my terms a little bit, and find a way to make it go."
That sounds like something Jordan would appreciate. The Eagles certainly do, even if many around the NFL do not.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in 'Flying High,' a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Jalen Hurts: Philadelphia Eagles 12 most intriguing players in 2025
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