The Evolution of Jalen Hurts: Part 1 – Learning When Not to Be a Hero

This is the first of a series of posts, breaking down how Jalen Hurts has dramatically improved his game since he joined the league. Each category focuses on a specific type of mistake he used to make—and how he’s grown past it. The whole series will be linked to an episode of my podcast, which you can find here. I have a huge thank you to James Foster (one of the best analysts out there) for providing me with old Hurts’ film and for helping with this series. Go and follow him and subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Part 1 – Learning When Not to Be a Hero – Out of Structure Throws

I’ve wanted to write this series for a while, so I’m excited! Everyone knows that Jalen Hurts has improved as a pro. I don’t think enough people realize that Hurts improvement is simply remarkable. Sadly, I think it’s not covered enough around the league because too many people in the media are afraid to admit that they were wrong about Hurts. I am not one of those analysts who doesn’t change their opinion when faced with new information. So, I’ll start with embarrassing myself. This is what I said after Hurts’ second season in the league. In my defense, I did also say he was a good starting quarterback…

Unless you think Jalen Hurts has top 5-8 potential (personally, I do not at this point) then the Eagles should be looking at other quarterbacks to try and find an elite option. Pretty much every single team who doesn’t have an elite quarterback should be looking to improve. This doesn’t mean you cannot win without an elite quarterback but you have to accept that the best teams usually have the best quarterbacks. It is clear that the elite quarterbacks in the league right now are just playing the position at a completely different level than a ‘good’ quarterback. Does anyone think an Eagles offense led by Hurts can compete with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen in a playoff game? I struggle to see it.

Oops. I got that wrong. Hurts has played Mahomes in 2 Super Bowls and has outplayed him in both! Despite that, I have made it clear in the past that I changed my opinion on Hurts. I said this in the following years film review…

I said he was around the 12-18 range last year and doubted whether he could get into the 5-8 category. I still believe he has areas to work on, but I am not someone who sticks to my opinion in the face of new evidence; I was wrong. He ranks in the top 10 of most QB rankings this year and I think you can make a strong case he’s been the 3rd best QB behind Mahomes and Allen.

However, I recently had access to Hurts’ All22 film from his first few years of the season, and I maintain that he didn’t play very well! Hurts was nowhere near as good as he is now. In the podcast, I asked James Foster about Hurts’ improvement and he described him as a Madden player, where he somehow continually improves all of his attributes every year. I think that’s a fantastic way of describing it.

To start, I went back and watched film from Hurts’ first two seasons, focusing specifically on his interceptions and off-target throws. Then I reviewed the last two seasons using that same framework. The improvement was even more dramatic than I expected. It’s one thing to observe year-to-year growth, but going back four seasons and comparing that to the current version of Hurts was a little shocking. The transformation is mad. Hurts’ improvement is not common. He’s transformed as a quarterback in a number of different areas.

The first category I will focus on will be his out-of-structure decisions—plays where Hurts tries to play hero ball. He was poor in this area coming out of college. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the 1st set of clips here…

In his early years, when the play broke down, Hurts often felt pressure to make something happen. As you can see from the clips above, he’d escape the pocket and try to force a throw late in the down—usually without resetting his feet—often leading defenders straight to the ball with his eyes. There are times when he just immediately left the pocket to try and make a play. There were multiple interceptions that fell into this category, especially ones where he extended the play just a beat too long and tried to fit a ball into a window that wasn’t there.

Let’s be real; some of the plays there are terrible. How many plays have you seen like that over the past couple of years? Barely any. As I said, the improvement is remarkable.

just take a look at the pick against the Cowboys. It’s a great example of just how raw he was. It was only his second game, and while it’s fair to give a rookie quarterback some grace, it was rough. He kept breaking the pocket early, backpedalling under pressure, and throwing without a set base. There were moments where it didn’t even look like he had the arm to make certain throws. At the time, it raised real questions about his long-term upside.

Now compare that film to some of the recent film of Hurts’ play out of structure. Take a look at the 2nd lot of clips…

He still makes plays outside of structure, but he knows when to throw it away, when to scramble, and when to reset and find a safer option. That “do-it-all” instinct is still in him—but it’s controlled now. He’s learned that not every play has to be a highlight, and that sometimes the best play is to live to fight another down. He’s significantly more calm and controlled when playing out-of-structure. He doesn’t force the ball anywhere near as much as he used to. It’s extremely hard to improve arm strength, but the ball has more zip on it in the 2nd lot of clips, too.

The biggest difference I noticed when reviewing the film was the willingness to hang in the pocket. He escapes but keeps his eyes down the field. The 3rd clips against the Cowboys is the perfect example of this. Compare that play to the interception from the 1st set of videos against the Cowboys! Even when breaking the pocket, Hurts now has the willingness to keep his eyes down the field and try to find an open receiver. As the title suggests; Hurts has learnt when not to be a hero.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.