Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has quickly become one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the NFL, as people either love or hate him with no middle ground.
Some have questioned Hurts as a quarterback and how he conducts himself with the media and teammates. Eagles free agent wide receiver Jahan Dotson put those questions to the side as he told NFL insider Jordan Schultz the truth about whether Hurts made strides as a leader for the Eagles.
"I would say so. In my two years being here, he was way more vocal. We were challenging ourselves, the coaches were challenging us and he was relaying those messages to us. We were tired, tired in practice or tired in the fourth quarter. He was relaying those messages to us and he was making sure that everything was a tight ship run. He truly is, I feel like, one of the best leaders I've ever been around. He commands the attention of the huddle. He commands the attention of the room."
Jahan Dotson praises Jalen Hurts' leadership
The hatred towards Hurts is so odd because he doesn't do anything to bother anyone else. He usually keeps to himself, and when he is on the field, all anyone can see is how good a leader he is for the Eagles.
Hurts has put together quite the start to his NFL career since the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has led Philly to the playoffs five years in a row, made it three Pro Bowls, been to two Super Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and was named the game's MVP.
Most people get rubbed the wrong way by his postgame quotes, which make no sense, since he never says anything controversial. When Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown publicly complains about the Eagles' offense instead of keeping it behind closed doors, everyone in the national media is okay with it. When Hurts tries to share an inspirational quote, he's just seen as "obnoxious."
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It's quite frankly one of the most impressive double standards ever because the quarterback is not supposed to bring attention to himself, but everyone loves to criticize Hurts for what he says and how he plays. All Eagles fans care about is that he's a guy who has won nearly 70% of his games, so he's good in their books, and the outside noise is just white noise that doesn't matter. The Eagles have their quarterback, and that's that.