August 07, 2026
Each year, Mike Sando of The Athletic publishes his outstanding "QB Tiers" post, this year with commentary gathered from "eight general managers, five assistant GMs, five former GMs and three other executives, plus nine head coaches, 10 defensive coordinators, five offensive coordinators, two offensive assistants, one defensive assistant and two coaches specializing in analytics/game management."
So, you know, these rankings are from people with (mostly) high-level jobs in the NFL. Of course, "high-level job in the NFL" doesn't always mean "knows what they're talking about" in many cases.
Spoiler: Jalen Hurts finished 17th. The 16 guys ahead of Hurts:
I can't fathom how a consensus panel such as this so severely ignores postseason success. Like, don't results matter, just a little bit? Justin Herbert was in the same draft class as Hurts and has been to the playoffs three times. He's 0-3 with 2 TDs, 4 INTs, a 64.7 QB rating, and in his last two playoff games the Chargers scored a grant total of 15 points. He's 6th?! And Hurts is 17? If you think Herbert is just a more talented player, then, eh, OK. But how is there that big a gap? But whatever.
Let's get to the actual commentary on Hurts, who, as always, is a misunderstood player.
Anonymous quote: “Philly just won it all not too long ago, but I think of all the bulls--- he had to deal with,” a defensive coordinator said. “They are not on the same page, going through different coordinators, and all the s--- he had to deal with regarding A.J. Brown.”
#JimmySays: Hurts has often been dismissed because he has played on loaded rosters. And honestly, that's fair. But he doesn't get excuses made for him nationally the way so many other quarterbacks do. Certainly, it is a major challenge to have to go through an offensive coordinator change every season.
Anonymous quote: “Hurts can throw slants and go-balls,” a GM said. “Is there anybody better at running slants and go-balls than A.J. Brown?"
#JimmySays: A.J. Brown ran a mean go-ball his first two or three seasons in Philly. His deep routes absolutely sucked in 2025.
Also, while there is some merit that Hurts did not adequately utilize the middle of the field the last two seasons — whether that was his own avoidance of it or a product of the scheme — the idea that all he can do is throw slants and go-balls is silly.
Anonymous quote: “You don’t want to count on (Hurts) to win a game unless it’s a go-ball, which is a 50-50 ball, except he’s had A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who can go catch it,” a defensive coach said. “His best plays are off schedule. It will become less sustainable as he gets older. And you can’t keep cycling through coordinators.”
#JimmySays: I actually believe that Hurts should be better at making off-schedule plays than he is because of his athletic skill set. Far too often he escapes the pocket and immediately throws the ball away out of bounds. It feels like this comment is from someone who recalls Hurts making some plays with his legs and he's assuming those are off-schedule runs.
The reality is that Hurts has been a very good runner at times during his career, but a lot of that was on designed runs.
Also, legit lol at the idea he can only win games if he hits on go-balls. The guy is 57-25 during the regular season, and 6-4 in the playoffs. Certainly his deep throws are probably his biggest strength, but I'm pretty sure he's won a lot of games without depending on those to hit. What an idiotic pair of comments. I would love to know who this defensive coach is.
Anonymous quote: “What I appreciate about Matt LaFleur was how he met Aaron Rodgers halfway when implementing a new offense (in Green Bay),” an exec said. “I’ll be curious to see if Sean Mannion has the feel to marry what he wants to do with what Jalen does well, or do they say, ‘Jalen, you have to do this’?"
#JimmySays: Fair.
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