Breaking down Jalen Hurts' unprecedented improvement in accuracy

Jalen Hurts could always throw the football a long way. He could always run faster than almost anybody. He could always make big plays.

Even in his late-season cameo as a 22-year-old rookie in 2020 after Doug Pederson benched Carson Wentz, Hurts led the NFL in yards per completion, averaged 5.6 yards per rushing attempt and had the third-most 30-yard completions in the NFL over the last four weeks of the season, behind Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson.

No, the biggest question about Hurts early in his career was whether he could ever be accurate enough to thrive in the NFL, where the average QB completes 65 percent of his passes.

Consider that question answered. Definitively.

It’s been a gradual evolution, but Hurts has morphed into the most accurate quarterback in Eagles history and one of the most accurate QBs in the NFL.

A few weeks ago, Hurts passed Nick Foles to become the most accurate quarterback in team history at 63.8 percent (minimum 1,000 attempts). Foles completed 62.9 percent of his passes, and Carson Wentz is the only other one over 60 percent at 62.7.

Check out Hurts’ progression:

2020: Completed 52.0 percent of his passes, ranked last of 44 quarterbacks (minimum 100 passes).

2021: Completed 61.3 percent of his passes, ranked 29^th out of 37 quarterbacks.

2022: Completed 66.5 percent of his passes, ranked 12^th out of 39 quarterbacks.

2023: Completed 68.9 percent of his passes so far, ranked 6^th out of 30 quarterbacks.

Only six quarterbacks in NFL history have completed 52 percent or fewer of their passes as a rookie and had one season later at any point in their career at 65 percent. But it took Jim Plunkett 15 years to get there, Eli Manning 14 years, Steve Bartkowski 10 years, Sammy Baugh nine years, Alex Smith eight years and Cody Carlson five years.

Hurts did it in his third year and he’ll do it again in his fourth year. So Hurts will own the two-earliest seasons ever at 65 percent or better in NFL history by a QB who was at 52 percent or worse as a rookie.

Unprecedented improvement.

Hurts has been over 73 percent four times this year, already the most in Eagles history with eight games to go. 

The last three weeks before the bye, he completed 74.2 percent of his passes against the Dolphins, 76.3 percent vs. Washington and 73.9 in the win over the Cowboys. He’s the first Eagles QB over 73 percent in three straight games and only the eighth QB in NFL history over 73 percent in three straight games along with multiple TD passes and 200 yards.

Donovan McNabb, the greatest quarterback in Eagles history, had 10 career games over 73 percent in 142 starts. Hurts has nine in 43 starts. 

Hurts isn’t far off the franchise record for completion percentage in a season. Wentz, Hurts’ one-time teammate, hit on 69.6 percent of his passes before he got hurt in 2018. Hurts is at 68.9 percent but rising. 

Now, it doesn’t hurt to have A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert to throw to. Those three have caught 147 of 204 targets this year, and the Eagles are the only NFL team that has three guys who’ve been targeted 50 or more times who’ve caught 70 percent of their targets.

But the bottom line is that Hurts is putting the ball exactly where he wants to put it more than two-thirds of the time he unloads.

“Accuracy is not only where you place the ball and the ball being complete but also you going to the right place with the football,” Nick Sirianni said. “You could have an accurate throw and not go to the right place with the football and that (would) be an incompletion and not do it in a timely fashion and that (would) be a tipped ball or a sack. 

“So I think it's … just him getting more and more comfortable with the plays that he's running and that he likes and knowing where to go with the football accurately and going there in a timely fashion and doing so with good fundamentals.”

When Hurts completes 65 percent of his passes, the Eagles are 19-3, with a loss to the Chiefs in 2021, a loss to Washington last year and the Super Bowl.

Where is this all leading?

Maybe toward another Super Bowl. Maybe toward MVP. Hurts’ ability to operate at a very high level in the pocket when his running ability is compromised is one of the most encouraging things we’ve ever seen from Hurts.

The guy who was the least accurate quarterback in the NFL as a rookie just three years ago is now the sixth-most accurate QB in the league over the last two years 

And everything he’s ever done in his career tells you he’s only going to keep getting better.

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