SI's projected 2025 QB ranking for Jalen Hurts puts more pressure on him

After a season of a record-breaking rushing performance from Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, there might be more weight put on quarterback Jalen Hurts in the offense.

Sports Illustrated writer Matt Verderame shared his projected quarterback rankings for how they will look at the end of the 2025 NFL season. Verderame has Hurts going to be ranked eighth, with more work being put on him over Barkley.

"Hurts didn’t throw for 3,000 yards last season, and most of his 14 rushing touchdowns were on the tush push. Yet when Saquon Barkley was limited to 52 yards on 25 carries in the Super Bowl, Hurts threw for 221 yards on 10.0 yards per attempt with a pair of touchdowns in a 40–22 rout of the Chiefs. 

With Hurts, it’s not about the raw statistics. Sure, his 3,533 total yards and 32 touchdowns are impressive, but not overwhelming. He’s not the best player on his offense, not even in his backfield. And yet all Hurts does is play big when the moment demands it, evidenced by his 6–2 playoff record over the past three years, along with nine career fourth-quarter comebacks.

This season, he’ll likely have to do more for Philadelphia to win another title. Barkley is coming off a 2,000-yard rushing campaign, something no player has ever done twice. 

The highest yardage total after such a season is 1,491 by Barry Sanders in 1998. Only Sanders and Adrian Peterson even eclipsed 1,300 rushing yards the following year."

Hurts is ready to take on more work in 2025

The Eagles wouldn't mind throwing the ball more with Hurts as well, but it was tough to do that when Barkley was playing at such a high level. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni would like to give his other running backs more touches as well so Barkley isn't taking as many hits on the field.

In the past, Hurts has shown that he struggles when he throws the ball more. Everyone looks at 2023 as the example when he threw it 538 times and threw 15 interceptions. Remember, Brian Johnson was the offensive coordinator and did not put his quarterback in the best positions, often relying on bubble screens and calling deep ball throws with inconsistent accuracy.

The previous two seasons, Hurts threw the ball 432 times in 2021 and 460 times in 2022 and had a combined 15 interceptions. Sometimes, it's not about the amount of throws being thrown, it's about the calls that are being called.

Philly doesn't need Hurts to throw the ball over 500 times, but it sure would help to take less touches from Barkley. Hurts' sweet spot would be about 450 attempts and go from there. The Eagles will get more yards, touchdowns, and still manage to stay under 10 interceptions with Hurts' great decision-making in the pocket.

Expect more passing in 2025 with Hurts and for him to finally silence the critics that he can't carry the football team himself.