There’s been some Donovan McNabb and Jalen Hurts commotion on the timeline, I think from this tweet:

To be fair, there’s no question in here. No one is asking “who is better?” or what have you, but the comparison is totally pointless, even in a vacuum.

Why? Well, did you watch the Eagles from 1999 to 2003? Donovan McNabb had MAYBE half the talent around him. Jalen Hurts had A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert, and the league’s best offensive line. In McNabb’s first five seasons, he had one year of Brian Westbrook, James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, Chad Lewis, Duce Staley, Correll Buckhalter, and other assorted underwhelmers. It’s true that Donovan had Tra Thomas, Jon Runyan, and Jermane Mayberry on that O-line, but if you put the two groups together you’re probably taking the 2022 or 2024 lines over the best line that Donovan ever had.

Ask yourself a serious question – is there any player, on Donovan McNabb’s pre-Terrell Owens Eagles offenses, that you would rank above a player from the 2022 or 2024 Super Bowl teams? Probably not. Jahan Dotson, honest to god, if he was WR1 or WR2 on those Donovan teams, would have put up the same numbers as Pinkston and Thrash. Chad Lewis went to three Pro Bowls but put up fewer yards and touchdowns than Dallas Goedert. It’s a hard comparison because tight ends are used much differently now, but still. I’ll listen to arguments about B West, who was a dual-threat scat back, but that’s the extent of the time and attention this admittedly strawman-ish exercise deserves.

It’s pointless otherwise. Donovan had very little to work with during those early years. He absolutely would have won a ring if he had Hurts’ supporting cast.