Eagles’ Jalen Hurts lands in the top-5 of PFF’s NFL Week 3 Quarterback Rankings

Jalen Hurts lands in the top-5 of PFF’s NFL Week 3 Quarterback Rankings

Even after a rough outing in the Eagles home opener, Jalen Hurts is still paying the rent daily as Howie Roseman and company hope that he’s the signal-caller of the future.

Pro Football Focus just released their quarterback rankings for Week 3 and Philadelphia fans will be ecstatic.

Using a statistical technique called Bayesian Updating that uses the dynamics of the historical quarterback market and individual results to project their PFF grades and expected points added (EPA) per play, Eagles’ second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts landed at No. 2 on the list for Week 3.

Despite a relatively low EPA ranking, Tom Brady is so far out ahead of the field in grading that he secures the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Jalen Hurts has been elite from a grading and efficiency standpoint this year, though his offense’s overall performance in Week 2 was lackluster, mostly due to a heavy reliance on unsuccessful runs.

Hurts had the highest average depth of target in Week 2, targeting receivers an average of 15.7 yards downfield per Next Gen stats.

So far through two weeks of game action, Hurts has a 66.1 QBR, 62.7 completion percentage, and 454 passing yards to go with three touchdowns.

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Where Eagles’ Jalen Hurts landed in PFF’s NFL Week 1 Quarterback Rankings

Jalen Hurts lands in the top-5 of PFF’s NFL Week 1 Quarterback Rankings

The national narrative around Jalen Hurts is changing and nothing shows that the Eagles signal-caller has arrived more than Pro Football Focus showing some respect.

Hurts started the preseason out as a bottom thirty quarterback in late August rankings, but after his Week 1 performance against the Falcons, the second-year star is trending in the top five, landing at No. 4.

You might be wondering why Winston, who had the highest per-play grades and EPA in Week 1, isn’t located at the top of the rankings. The answer is as simple as his lack of sample size. Winston only played 24 passing snaps, versus 41 plays for Teddy Bridgewater, who occupies the top spot. Bridgewater is in a new location but looks ripe for regression going forward, given that he has the 26th-best career Bayesian ranking in the group.

Brady, Hurts, and Patrick Mahomes round out the top five, with Brady having the biggest divergence between grades and EPA. Brady’s Bayesian grade estimate is higher than anyone else after finishing with the second-highest number on a per-play basis and being involved in a substantial 50 plays in Week 1. Mahomes and Brady have the top two career rankings, so it isn’t a fluke that they’re already near the top of the board.

The next closest NFC East quarterback on the list was Dak Prescott landing at No. 14 in the Week 1 ranking after an impressive return against the defending champion Buccaneers.

Hurts was efficient on first downs, late downs, and while also making the necessary plays from a clean pocket and under pressure.

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