Jalen Hurts has improved drastically since being named the Eagles’ starting quarterback at the end of the 2020 NFL season.
There’s no more significant indicator of his transformation than his success as a deep ball passer in 2022 while leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl appearance.
Hurts displayed elite growth as a passer last season, climbing from 19th (54.6) to fourth (66.4) in QBR and 26th (61.3%) to 11th (66.5%) in completion percentage per Tim McManus.
Hurts significantly improved overall while amassing Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and MVP nominations.
The former Alabama and Oklahoma star led Philadelphia to a 14-1 regular season record (.933 winning percentage) as a starter, completing 306-of-460 (66.5%) attempts for 3,701 yards (8.0 avg.), 22 TDs, 6 INTs, and 101.6 passer rating, while also rushing for 760 yards and 13 TDs. In total, Hurts combined for 4,461 yards and 35 TDs.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook ranked the top 10 deep passers of 2022, and Hurts landed at No. 3 on the list behind only Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) and Geno Smith (Seahawks).
Hurts (3), Dak Prescott (4), and Kirk Cousins (5) rounded out the top five, while Patrick Mahomes (6), Russell Wilson (7), Derek Carr (8), Joe Burrow (9), and Josh Allen (10) were the top 10.
Jalen Hurts -- 3rd
The former Alabama and Oklahoma star led Philadelphia to a 14-1 regular season record (.933 winning percentage) as a starter, while combining for 4,461 yards and 35 TDs.
Deep attempts: 20-of-52, 780 yards, 10:2 TD-INT, 109.8 passer rating
Deep comp: 38.5%
Deep xComp: 29.1%
Deep CPOE: +9.4%
PASSING SCORE (on deep attempts): 99Hurts landing here shouldn’t surprise anyone. As quarterback of the NFL’s third-ranked offense, he accounted for a large number of Eagles highlights in 2022. He fit in seamlessly with his team’s major acquisition from last offseason, receiver A.J. Brown, powering the ninth-best passing offense in the league.
Confusion on Hurts over Prescott
Hurts landed ahead of Dak Prescott despite trailing the Cowboys star in deep CPOE and passer rating.
In EPA, which factors heavily into passing score, Hurts (37.3) was better than Prescott (28.9), producing nearly 10 more expected points added, thanks to his 10:2 TD-INT ratio, which doubled Prescott’s output.
Hurts also gained nearly 300 more yards on deep attempts than Prescott, but that could be a result of the Eagles star playing three more regular season games.
