National Football League

Does Eagles QB Jalen Hurts have more potential than Dak Prescott?

Published Sep. 22, 2022 6:33 p.m. ET

When taking about the most talented quarterback in the NFC East, there might be a new top dog in town.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is on a tear to open the 2022 NFL season. He has completed 69.8% of his passes for 576 yards with a touchdown and an interception through two games this season. Hurts has also done damage on the ground, rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 start.

The 24-year-old signal-caller had arguably the best game of his NFL career on Monday night in a 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings. He threw for 333 yards (the most he's had in a winning effort) and rushed for 57 yards to go along with a passing touchdown and two rushing scores.

Former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy has been impressed by Hurts' play to open the season, going as far as saying that he sees more potential in Hurts than he does in Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

"Jerry Jones has seen what we've seen right?" McCoy said on Thursday's "Speak." "As he's watching the Eagles play and watching Jalen Hurts take the ball out and go score, go throw a 60-something-yard deep bomb. He's seen what we've seen! That lets him think ‘Man, I wish my quarterback can do that. Man, my quarterback is making hundreds of millions of dollars and he can’t do that.'

"This young kid can [make those big plays]. I love to talk about potential. A lot of teams, they draft players, and they pay guys based on potential. I see bigger potential in Jalen Hurts than I do in Dak Prescott. I'm not a big Dak Prescott guy."

Much like Prescott, Hurts helped lead his team to the playoffs in his first full season as a starter.

In 21 career starts, Hurts sports an 11-10 record, while throwing for 4,639 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with an 86.1 passer rating. He's added 1,203 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns over that time, too.

Prescott, on the other hand, held a 15-6 record through his first 21 starts, throwing for 4,859 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions with a 101.6 passer rating. He added 408 rushing yards and eight touchdowns during that span.

Still, McCoy believes we have yet to see the best from Hurts.

"I'm playing real football here," McCoy said. "I'm not saying ‘Oh, he’s the starting quarterback, give him everything.' No, it takes time! He's a young quarterback. It's his third year.

"When do you think I made my first All-Pro? My third year. It takes time. My second year, I was balling. But I wasn't the guy yet. This year, he's going to be the guy. And Dallas is struggling to have a guy."