This is going to be a league-by-league situation, but if your draft room is treating Jalen Hurts as if he has a real shot to finish as the QB3 (it’s currently a very tightly packed group of four quarterbacks for that honor at ESPN), letting someone else take him might eliminate one opponent on draft day.
Should You Draft Jalen Hurts in Fantasy Football?
Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is simultaneously one of the most exciting and one of the most polarizing fantasy QBs year in and year out.
Perennially, it seems Hurts stands as a preseason QB5, at least a top-5 QB on early rankings. But this year, he fell outside the top 5 at his position for the first time since what seems like at least 2021 or 2022. He’s the QB6 on PFN’s rankings. He’s got an ADP of 65.4, a PFN rank of 67, and a projected 18.2 points per game.
The 2025 season was the first year that Hurts did not finish in the top 8 in fantasy among QBs since 2021, his first season as the full-time starter for the Eagles. It’s also the first time since 2020 that he finished with under 600 rushing yards. In fact, he had under 500 rushing yards in 2025 and under 10 rushing touchdowns.
A positive regression could be in the cards for Hurts, but he also is what he is at this stage, and that comes with perks and limitations. He struggles threatening the intermediate and deep ranges of the field, as well as working over the middle. We all know that. It’s widely publicized, and those limitations definitely cap his upside as a volume passer, which impacts some fantasy elements.
Swapping out A.J. Brown could be a double-edged proposition where that’s concerned. His replacement can definitely give Hurts an outlet in the short and intermediate ranges, but middle-of-the-field chemistry will be a question mark, especially for such a slot-heavy target.
In 2025, for the first time, the Eagles’ offensive line finished outside the top 10, let alone the top 16, in PFN team offensive line impact scoring, and the Eagles lost Jeff Stoutland, the highly renowned offensive line coach, who retired. That’s a big blow to the unit, too. Lane Johnson is definitely getting older, and there’s potentially going to be some volatility with that. The interior offensive line has been relatively susceptible to injuries and volatility over the past few years as well. That is a question mark that remains at least somewhat unanswered for this Eagles squad.
That said, Hurts is going to have DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, who remain sufficient multi-level separation and red-zone threats, respectively, and they’re going to see the ball early and often. Even in 2025, with that offensive line regressing a little bit, Hurts was still top 5 among quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns. In fact, that’s probably the biggest silver lining for Hurts: he is always going to remain a top rushing threat at the position. From 2022 to 2024, he had double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of those seasons.
In my opinion, Hurts definitely has some limitations that come with the volume passing side of things and even the rushing production. With an offensive line that is relatively susceptible, or at least primed for more regression, maybe you have to worry about how that’s going to affect his rushing production. But as long as you’re confident that the rushing production has a decent floor with Hurts, then you can feel comfortable drafting him, especially in superflex leagues.
Understand that he’s never going to be a high-end volume passer, but he does have a very high floor in fantasy because of his two-phase ability and touchdown ratio. He’s a reasonable target at his ADP in redraft leagues and a valuable anchor for superflex squads.
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Jalen Hurts’ Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
Talk about a soft landing spot in a season that is going to come with plenty of pressure.
In 2025, the Commanders ranked 27th or worse in scoring defense, opponent passer rating, and opponent YPA. They were the second-worst red-zone defense in the league (67.7%) and allowed Hurts to complete 73.3% of his passes in his lone start against them.
And therein lie the questions. In that game, A.J. Brown led the Birds in targets, receptions, and receiving yards and was the only player on this team with a 20+ yard catch on the day.
Chicken or egg?
Personally, I think Hurts is a real-life asset, but that doesn’t mean big things are coming in fantasy world. Replacing an All-Pro with a rookie is naturally going to require a learning curve, and when that’s the situation for a team that pretty clearly wants to run the ball in bulk, his ability to put counting numbers on the board is a real concern.
I was low on Hurts this season. If you didn’t listen to me, that’s fine. If you’re regretting not listening to me, I think you get a week to rectify that. He’s a strong start in this matchup, and if he can show a connection with Makai Lemon, it’s very possible that managers in your league are back on him as a Tier 1 threat.
We can circle back to that if it happens, but I can already tell you that I’m going to be on the “sell him” side of that discussion. The Eagles get the Seahawks and Texans in Weeks 15 and 16, putting him in position to fail at the worst possible time.
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Where Hurts Ranks Among 2026 Quarterbacks
- Josh Allen | BUF
- Drake Maye | NE
- Lamar Jackson | BAL
- Jayden Daniels | WAS
- Joe Burrow | CIN
- Jalen Hurts | PHI
- Caleb Williams | CHI
- Justin Herbert | LAC
- Jaxson Dart | NYG
- Trevor Lawrence | JAX
- Dak Prescott | DAL
More rankings can be found in PFN’s PPR Quarterback Rankings.
