Colin Cowherd Says Jalen Hurts Is More Like The Spice Girls Than Taylor Swift

Colin Cowherd believes there are two types of quarterbacks in the NFL — the leaders and the ensemble. So where does he think Jalen Hurts falls?

“Some quarterbacks in this league are Taylor Swift,” Cowherd, the host of FOX Sports’ “The Herd,” said. “They’re leading the entire tour. Most quarterbacks in this league are the Spice Girls. They’re part of an ensemble. Jalen Hurts is part of an ensemble.”

Essentially, Cowherd is claiming that Hurts is a cog that helps the Philadelphia Eagles win, rather than the head of the snake, carrying them to victory. It’s not necessarily a knock on Hurts, who was good enough to help the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX, but more of a criticism of the way fans perceive his greatness.

“Fans view quarterbacks based on winning,” Cowherd said. 

Hurts has done that at the highest level. But, he doesn’t have the individual talent that positional counterparts such as Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson possess. 

In fact, the Eagles went on a nine-game winning streak during the regular-season, and a Super-Bowl-winning postseason run because they took the ball out of Hurts’ hand.  

“Last year, in the bye week, the people who know him best said, ‘You know, we’d be better off throwing less,'” Cowherd said. “That’s a tell.'”

That resulted in the Eagles having the lowest pass-rate in the NFL (43.7%). They ended the 2024 season with 448 pass attempts to 621 rush attempts. 

Cowherd is basically stating that the fans’ perception of Hurts is inconsistent with his actual individual talent. And that notion was backed up in a recent survey that The Athletic conducted of NFL executives. After questioning 50 front-office members, Hurts was placed in the second-tier of quarterbacks, tied for ninth with Houston Texans’ starter C.J. Stroud. In fact, only three of the 50 executives had him ranked in Tier 1. 

“This is not a knock on Jalen Hurts,” Cowherd said. 

He stars in his role, but, “he was much closer to Brock Purdy than Mahomes, Burrow, Jackson, and Lamar,” Cowherd added. “And that’s exactly right.”

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