Eagles QB Jalen Hurts among top breakout candidates in Fantasy football

There may be a continuing debate brewing about whether or not Jalen Hurts has the stuff to win a more permanent assignment as QB1 of the Philadelphia Eagles, but if you’re spending a considerable portion of your time this summer attempting to put a plan together for building your Fantasy roster, his inclusion might be a no-brainer.

In 2021, the Birds notched a 2-5 win-loss total during the first seven weeks of the season, but things got off to a nice start. Jalen completed over 77 percent of his passes en route to 264 yards through the air and three scoring strikes in a Week 1 opening-day blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons. He added another 62 yards on seven carries.

The statistical outpouring continued, albeit in losing causes and garbage time (Week 3 versus the Dallas Cowboys and Week 4 versus the Kansas City Chiefs). He racked up over 700 yards passing and four TDs in those games, so even though you may not have been happy with the way the Eagles’ games were turning out, if you’re like us and you had him on your roster, you were feeling no ill effects.

Hurts contributed over 20 fantasy points to some happy owners’ Fantasy teams in each of the Eagles’ first seven games. With weapons galore at his disposal heading into the 2022-2023 NFL season and another year in Philadelphia’s offense, he could be a breakout candidate for the coming season as well.

Jalen Hurts is Fantasy gold. Let’s hope that leads to real-life success.

So, do we draft Jalen Hurts or not? That’s the question. Pro Football Focus sees that idea as being a good one. In a recent Fantasy football position preview for the quarterback position, Jarad Evans, the writer of this one, agrees with our staff at Inside The Iggles.

Jalen Hurts is Fantasy gold. He, Russell Wilson, and Trey Lance all landed in the potential breakout category. Here’s some of what Evans had to say on the subject.

"Fantasy managers are drafting Hurts for his rushing usage – he tallied a league-high 90 designed runs and 50 scrambles (second) en route to 784 total rushing yards (first) and 10 rushing touchdowns (first)… What if Hurts also makes a leap forward in the passing game? This is the key to unlocking a QB1 overall season.Hurts threw a deep pass beyond 20-plus yards downfield on 15% of his attempts last season (fourth most) but connected on just 38% of those throws (20th). He carries an aggressive mentality but did not have the weapons or skill to capitalize last year.That is no longer the case – Philadelphia boasts serious offensive firepower heading into 2022, as the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown, who is one of the league’s premier downfield receivers."

In other words, in this case, the Fantasy football gurus are asking the same questions as the rest of us. Can Jalen Hurts get the job done? Here are the facts.

With another year in Philly’s offense under his belt, continuity from having the same offensive coaching staff in consecutive seasons for the first time since he was in high school, and weapons everywhere, a huge leap is expected. Some may even argue that anything short of that is a colossal disappointment.

Hurts doesn’t just have A.J. Brown to lean on. He’s got talented young weapons like DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Dallas Goedert to throw the ball to. He also enjoys the comfort of knowing the NFL’s best offensive line is in front of him and he shares the backfield with playmakers like Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Miles Sanders.

If one or two of the role players can breakout or if someone we’re ignoring can rise to a prominent role and/or be productive, the Eagles’ offense can be scary. That would be good news for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense in 2022 because it should tack a few more wins on the regular-season total. That’s also good for your Fantasy team if Jalen Hurts is on it.