Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) drops back to pass against the Green Bay Packers during the first half in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
It's not every day that Eagles fans can agree with a former Dallas Cowboys player, but here we are.
Late last week, Dez Bryant strongly backed up Jalen Hurts with a series of tweets, calling him a top-five quarterback in the NFL.
Bryant entered the Hurts discourse after Cam Newton released a video from his podcast "4th&1 with Cam Newton," where he said Hurts wasn't a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Newton made the usual arguments that Hurts' supporting cast was the best in the NFL and the Eagles don't need him to be elite to win games, which he said isn't the case with other QBs across the league.
Bryant responded to the video with his own remarks:
"I think Jalen is one of the top five QBs in the National Football League," Bryant wrote in a post on X. "I believe the National Football League is looking for the Jalen Hurts type. Jalen has mastered how to operate the talent around him. Saquon Barkley became the best running back in the league because of Jalen Hurts' dual-threat ability. The number one skill for a QB is their mind, to operate what's asked of them. He's doing it at a high level."
Considering the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry, it was bold of Bryant to take the Eagles' side on a polarizing debate, considering he knew there'd be a lot of pushback.
When people in the comments questioned Bryant's post, he wasn't afraid to defend his stance. He flooded his social media replying to fans who disagreed with him.
Someone replied saying that other quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson could easily win with the Eagles roster. Bryant said that's not necessarily true and "they all see the game differently."
It’s a great chance they won’t…they all see the game differently https://t.co/fJW9VFIv0l
There was a reply in support of Hurts, saying they felt he played well last season. Bryant's response to that was, "It be the obvious things a lot of you fans don't see what makes teams great."
Bryant seemingly spent all afternoon defending Hurts and his play. Rather than downplaying his accomplishments and labeling him a game-manager, Bryant was happy to do the opposite.
With no football over the past few months, Hurts discourse has often taken center stage. It's an easy thing to talk about, since the Eagles are coming off a dominant Super Bowl victory. Hurts debates generate clicks, and no matter how repetitive the talking points get on both sides are, they keep getting rehashed.
Sometimes, it's easy to predict what somebody's going to say. Someone like Chris Simms is always going to underrate Hurts' accomplishments, while other detractors do the same. However, sometimes there are some surprise Hurts supporters.
Bryant is one of them. No matter how much Eagles fans despised him as a player, the former Cowboy definitely gained a little respect in their hearts last week.
