June 4, 2022

Jalen Hurts has been fantasy football gold his first two seasons in the NFL. As a rookie, he finished as QB7 on a per-game basis, averaging 23.7 fantasy points per game (PPG) in four starts. In 2021, he finished as QB6, averaging 21.4 PPG. But last year was a tale of two seasons for Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. Between Weeks 1 and 7, they passed nearly 60% of the time. From Week 8 on, however, they passed just 41.5%. A complete 180 in terms of a game plan, which actually suppressed Hurts' fantasy value. In his first seven games, he averaged 25 PPG, while in his last eight games he averaged just 18.3 PPG. 18.3 PPG was still good for QB10 on a per-game basis during that stretch, but his upside was capped. Even still, it's clear to see that his rushing ability gives him an extremely safe floor at the quarterback position. In fact, he's scored fewer than 16 fantasy points in a game in just three of his 19 career starts because he's averaged 55.6 rushing yards and 0.7 rushing touchdowns per game. Now let's project forward to 2022. Shane Steichen will be taking over offensive playcalling duties from Nick Sirianni. In 2020, he was the offensive coordinator calling plays for the Los Angeles Chargers, who led the league in plays per game (70.4). Even if it's a 50/50 run/pass split, that would mean Hurts still airs it out 35 times per game. When he did that in 2021, he was an elite fantasy QB1. What else happened this offseason? Oh, you know, the Eagles just went out and traded for Hurts' best friend, who also just so happens to be one of the best receivers in the NFL in A.J. Brown. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert form one of the best pass-catching trios in the league that should enable Jalen Hurts to take his game to the next level in Year Three. At worst, he's a low-end QB1. At best, he's the overall QB1 in fantasy football.--Adam Koffler