If you have aspirations of winning your fantasy football league come December, there’s one rule to remember: there’s never a bad time to study up rankings. Sports Illustrated’s Michael Fabiano just came out with updated rankings, which should make some Eagles fans happy.
According to Fabiano, Jalen Hurts is now eighth overall on PPR QB rankings ahead of quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott. You can check out Fabiano’s full rankings (1-15) below:
| Ranking | Quarterback |
|---|---|
| 1. | Josh Allen (BUF) |
| 2. | Justin Herbert (LAC) |
| 3. | Patrick Mahomes (KC) |
| 4. | Lamar Jackson (BAL) |
| 5. | Kyler Murray (ARI) |
| 6. | Tom Brady (TB) |
| 7. | Joe Burrow (CIN) |
| 8. | Jalen Hurts (PHI) |
| 9. | Russell Wilson (DEN) |
| 10. | Matthew Stafford (LAR) |
| 11. | Aaron Rodgers (GB) |
| 12. | Dak Prescott (DAL) |
| 13. | Deshaun Watson (CLE) |
| 14. | Derek Carr (OAK) |
| 15. | Trey Lance (SF) |
So what does this mean? Let’s digest!
Jalen Hurts Is A True, No-Doubt QB1
Last year, Jalen Hurts was an unknown commodity in fantasy football. He showed potential, but a lot of question marks swirled around him. As a result, he was typically picked among the back half of the quarterbacks.
If you were one of the players to bet on him while filling up on RBs and WRs, you were rewarded. Thanks to his versatile mix of rushing and passing, Hurts had plenty of 20+ point games. He tailed off at the end of the year due to injury and inconsistency — perhaps killing a number of playoff hopes if the player didn’t prepare at backup — but was an overall productive QB1.
It’s only obvious, then, that Hurts is even more of an exciting prospect in 2022. With the additions of A.J. Brown, along with the hopeful progressions of Quez Watkins and DeVonta Smith, Hurts should have plenty more opportunities to rack up yardage and passing touchdowns.
Of course, Hurts’ bread and butter — his rushing — will be an important factor as well. Hurts is coming off a season where he set the Eagles’ franchise records for rushing touchdowns by a QB (10) to go along with 784 rushing yards.
Those 10 touchdowns were incredibly important considering Hurts’ lackluster passing (just 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions). I don’t think he reaches that number again, but if he’s able to see more scoring opportunities through the air thanks to his beefed-up receiving core, it should offset the damage. Hurts’ ankle injury should also be in the rearview mirror as well.
Is This Where He Should Be Ranked?
So, we’ve established the prospects of a much better season for Hurts — at least fantasy-wise — is ahead. But should he be ranked eighth above those prominent names? Honestly, maybe not.
Yes, Hurts IS a top-10 fantasy quarterback and should be drafted as such. But I think Matthew Stafford is more appealing due to his receiving core consisting of the always insane Cooper Kupp and new addition Allen Robinson (along with potentially Odell Beckham Jr.).
I could see having another 40+ touchdown season, something I don’t believe Hurts puts up. I do think he’s in a much better position to succeed than Rodgers, Wilson, and Prescott, however. Rodgers will be a fine QB1, but he’s bound for regression due to a lacking and inexperienced staff.
Wilson could be an interesting pick, given his new team in Denver and a much better supporting cast. I think Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy will both be heading for solid fantasy seasons, as will Wilson. But Hurts edges out Wilson in rushing, which is why I like Hurts’ potential more. All in all, it should be an exciting season for him, which is why you should cash in when you can.
