Jalen Hurts is one of the most divisive players in the NFL, and the Dallas Cowboys have the luxury of facing Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles twice a year. If you ask most football fans, they'll admit they don't think the former Super Bowl MVP is considered elite, but opinions fall all over the spectrum.
Most Cowboys fans see the 27-year-old as a solid signal-caller who's been propped up by an elite group of weapons, but many in the Philadelphia area have deluded themselves into seeing Hurts as one of the best in the business, even though it's clear any average Joe could thrive in this situation.
Dallas will always be the Eagles' archrivals, but it didn't stop Cowboys legend Troy Aikman from going against the grain and defending Hurts. While appearing on ESPN's Get Up, the Pro Football Hall of Famer praised him for dealing with the adversity of seven OC changes in as many years.
"I believe Jalen can do anything that he's asked to do," Aikman said... "What that proved to me is he's a quarterback that puts in the time to do everything he can to be his best, and so whatever he's been challenged with this offseason, I fully expect him to come out and play the kind of football that we're accustomed to seeing him play."
Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman is a Jalen Hurts truther
Aikman thinks the three-time Pro Bowler "can do anything that he's asked to do", but the fact of the matter is, can he?
A.J. Brown hated playing with him so much that he's basically forcing Howie Roseman to trade him, and you'd think the passing numbers of a guy throwing to Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert, and now Makai Lemon would be better.
The 2020 second-round pick has never surpassed 4,000 passing yards in a season in his career, and has only cleared the 3,500-yard threshold twice. His rushing numbers do all the heavy lifting, and you should expect a guy in a loaded offense to get the job done. He really doesn't elevate them though.
The issue is that Eagles fans try to shoehorn Hurts into conversations with guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson, but you can truly argue he isn't even a top-10 QB. Even the Super Bowl run he supposedly led was spearheaded by a generational season from Barkley.
You have to commend Aikman for putting his rivalry cap aside and being objective in his evaluation of Hurts. Unfortunately, his assessment is one that Cowboys fans cannot get behind. While Hurts is a good-ish QB, he does not elevate the talent around him.
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