Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts deserves more MVP love

It’s a statement that would have sounded ludicrous before the start of the 2021 NFL season, and perhaps as recently as a few weeks ago, but Philadelphia Eagles’ second-year signal-caller Jalen Hurts absolutely deserves MVP consideration for his efforts thus far.

I’m not under the illusion that he’ll actually nab the award this year or finish particularly close to the top of the vote totals, but it is possible for numerous players to have “MVP-caliber” seasons at the same time. And Hurts is having himself a season.

A quick check of the betting sites at this time shows Hurts as an extreme longshot, with odds of +10,000 or greater. He’s firmly below the Kyler Murrays and the Justin Herberts of the world, residing among the likes of David Carr. Ew. But I can see the justification. The Eagles, after all, are still just 5-6 despite their mini-surge of late. And Hurts himself is outside the top 10 in passing yards, ranking even lower with just 13 touchdowns through the air, which is less than half of Tom Brady’s league-leading total. So I could see why one might dismiss his candidacy right away.

Against all odds, Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts deserves legitimate MVP consideration this year.

But you’ve got to take other things into account here. As I contended even before their win over the Saints, the Eagles’ remaining schedule is so easy that it gives them a very real chance of overcoming a slow start and making the postseason. This would check a major box for Hurts’ MVP claim, as everyone loves the story of a team overachieving and having a much better season than anyone could have predicted. Should the Eagles reach the playoffs, the growth and improved play from Hurts this season would be the no-doubt-about-it top reason for that success. And I think it would be pretty hard to ignore the driving force who put a team on his back and carried them to a 10-ish win season.

No, the raw counting stats won’t ultimately be there for Hurts, at least not through the air. But he looks like he’ll be able to eclipse about 3200 yards or so, which isn’t nothing. And maybe he’ll be able to pad the passing TDs enough to make the statistically-inclined voters feel a little better about supporting him. And then there are those legs. Don’t forget about them.

When viewing how valuable a QB is to his team, you’ve got to account for the whole package. With the scrambling ability of Hurts and the way he can turn broken plays into positive yardage, one wonders if this Eagles season would have any hope left if they had some statue in the pocket instead of a true athlete. Hurts has simply made things happen.

In fact, Hurts is 10th in the league in rushing yards, trailing only Lamar Jackson among quarterbacks. And his nine rush TDs are good for fifth overall. To top it off, he’s just one of four players league-wide who have broken off six runs of at least 20 yards. What I’m saying is, the guy is a weapon, and we haven’t fully realized that yet. Thankfully, neither have opposing defenses.

It’s also helping Hurts’ case that many of the players who are theoretically ahead of him in the MVP race are having issues. The aforementioned Jackson has missed time with a sickness, and Kyler Murray has sat out multiple weeks with an injury. Dak Prescott has been banged up as well, and I think we’re all tired of hearing about the Aaron Rodgers soap opera. And of course this all came in the wake of the injury to Derrick Henry, who quite literally would have run away with the MVP if he didn’t get hurt.

Maybe it’ll be one of those years where all of the top players suffer some sort of Simpsons-esque misfortune, leaving Hurts as the last man standing. But a couple things need to happen here for him to have any kind of shot at some MVP votes.

First, the Eagles must make the playoffs. Even if Hurts’ numbers look good, a couple bad losses to their upcoming opponents would torpedo all of this. Jalen Hurts isn’t getting any votes if the Eagles finish 8-9. And then Hurts himself must stay healthy. No surprise there. He’s going to need to compile as many big numbers as possible, and that means staying on the field all year. He doesn’t have the luxury of a juggernaut team around him to naturally buoy his stats, a la Brady or Patrick Mahomes. He’ll never match those guys yard for yard thanks to the comparably meager talent around him and the offensive scheme he finds himself in. But, again, it’s Most VALUABLE Player. You can’t tell me that his efforts should be dismissed on numbers alone or that many more players are doing as much for their respective teams this year.

Does anyone think that the Eagles would still have a shot this season if they got off to such a bad start with the QB who shall not be named still under center? No, they would have folded faster than a fajita at Andy Reid’s house. So, please, if nothing else, acknowledge how good of a job Jalen Hurts has done to right the ship for this team and to have it in prime position to actually make the leap into the playoffs. Now he has to complete the task at hand.

If things come together for the Philadelphia Eagles this season, I hope that at least a few voters will call Jalen Hurts’ number when casting their MVP ballots. Even just to get close would be a well-deserved honor for him.