When Chris Simms and Mike Florio sat down to break down the Philadelphia Eagles’ promotion of longtime passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator, what began as a strategic discussion quickly turned into yet another debate about quarterback Jalen Hurts — thanks to a well-timed jab from Florio.
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Simms, speaking on the latest episode of Pro Football Talk, seemed relatively optimistic about the Eagles’ offensive continuity, even as the team enters a new chapter with Patullo replacing Kellen Moore.
“I think the foundation’s been laid there… They know who they are now… they’re not going to leave that little formula until it’s proven that you can stop it. It’s effective. It’s not overly complicated,” Simms said. The veteran analyst then detailed how the Eagles’ attack, especially with Saquon Barkley in the backfield, doesn’t require an overhaul.
“You’re in shotgun, spread the field… and then you go, ‘How many people do you want to commit to stop the run game and Saquon Barkley?’ If you commit too many, they just throw it outside to those receivers. If you double them, it’s Barkley up the middle,” Simms explained.
But right when it sounded like Simms might be giving the Eagles star a little too much credit, Florio cut in with a smirk: “Be careful, you almost praised Jalen Hurts.”
It was a light-hearted jab, but one grounded in real tension. Simms has long been cautious about fully buying into Jalen Hurts’ stocks. After infamously leaving him out of his top 40 quarterbacks list ahead of the 2021 season, Simms bumped Hurts to 25th in 2022, 7th in 2023, and intriguingly had him at No. 9 in his 2024 QB rankings, still trailing the likes of C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, and Justin Herbert.
Despite the Eagles star proving the analyst’s opinion wrong on multiple occasions, Simms defended himself, noting, “I respect so much about him—what he does, how he approaches things, and his skill set. But no, he’s not in my top five.”
“And I get emails all the time… ‘Are you going to make Hurts top five this year?’ I go, no, I’m not. Just because the team wins the Super Bowl doesn’t mean we forget all the context and say, ‘He’s the best now.’”
It’s a stance that continues to frustrate Eagles fans. After all, Hurts led his team to a Super Bowl victory last year while also winning the SB MVP award in the process.
Moreover, this is the same man who led Philly to a Super Bowl in the 2022 season, was an MVP finalist, is the heart of the tush push, and has grown year after year as both a passer and a leader. Hurts’ dual-threat ability and command of the offense are also undeniable, and teammates like Jason Kelce and A.J. Brown have often credited him for his football IQ and poise under pressure.
Simply put, Hurts still not being rated aptly is one of the biggest mysteries in the world, considering all he does is win!
Coming back to Simms, the NBC analyst clarified that he isn’t denying Hurts’ importance. He just continues to frame him as more of a system beneficiary than a system creator, something Brock Purdy and Tua Tagovailoa have been accused of in recent memory. Whether fair or not, that skepticism still colors how Jalen Hurts is discussed nationally.
So as the Eagles enter the 2025 season under Kevin Patullo’s guidance, the offense will certainly evolve, but Simms believes the playbook won’t stray too far from what Hurts already thrives in. And maybe that’s the point.
If the Eagles QB continues to produce within the same “not overly complicated” system, at what point does his consistency itself become the reason to elevate him into that elite tier?
But for now, Simms isn’t budging. However, if Jalen Hurts can tangibly build on his Super Bowl success of last year like Patrick Mahomes has done with the Chiefs in recent times, it’s hard to see how any analyst in the world can not have the Oklahoma alum in their top 5.
