NFL Hall of Famer Believes Eagles' Jalen Hurts is Top-Three Quarterback in NFL

It's impossible to say that the start of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts has gone as planned. Hurts is tough to evaluate in simple terms: sometimes he looks very above average, and other times he looks just about average. 

Throughout the 2026-27 season, he's shown some decent signs, but I wouldn't say he's playing like one of the NFL's better quarterbacks. He has just 713 passing yards, seven touchdowns, three interceptions, and the NFL's 15th-ranked QBR at 60.5.

To say Hurts is one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL would be unfair, though there's certainly an argument that he could be a top-10 guy when he's at his best. 

I think when Hurts plays the type of football everybody knows he can, he's one of the better 10-to-15 quarterbacks in this league. Anything past that and I'd personally have to disagree. As for others, including Terrell Owens, that isn't the case. 

Owens recently spoke about Hurts and his performance to start the season, saying he believes he's a top two-to-three quarterback in the NFL.

"Those Eagles are going to be as good as Jalen Hurts takes [them], and he's obviously top two or three quarterback in this league. It's really a travesty. It's just disrespectful, I hear they don't even have this guy in the top 15 of top quarterbacks in the league, which is really stupid and ridiculous, considering he's been to two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl MVP," Owens said, H/T Athlon.

"That's crazy. This kid, he knows how to win. It may not be flashy. It may not be with the gaudy numbers in the air with the expectations of your Joe Burrows, your Justin Herberts, your Patrick Mahomes, your Josh Allens. But Jalen Hurts is doing what is expected of the three guys, the three quarterbacks that I just named. To not have him in the top five is just stupid. You shouldn't even have a job as an analyst or a commentator to not have this guy in your top five of quarterbacks, considering what he's done in a short period of time."

As for some of the names that Owens listed, comparing him to guys like Joe Burrow and Josh Allen is unfair. 

The same can be said for Patrick Mahomes, who looks to be the best quarterback in football once again after returning from injury. 

At the same time, I think there is an argument that Hurts is better than guys like Justin Herbert, though both have problems as players.