Examining the Burgeoning Narrative that Jalen Hurts is on a Donovan McNabb-like Path

Rushing & Receiving Table

							Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush	Rush
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G
1999	23	PHI	NFL	QB	12	6	47	313	0	18	42.6	27	6.7	26.1	3.9
2000	24	PHI	NFL	QB	16	16	86	629	6	32	58.1	54	7.3	39.3	5.4
2001	25	PHI	NFL	QB	16	16	82	482	2	28	50.0	33	5.9	30.1	5.1
2002	26	PHI	NFL	QB	10	10	63	460	6	35	65.1	40	7.3	46.0	6.3
2003	27	PHI	NFL	QB	16	16	71	355	3	27	50.7	34	5.0	22.2	4.4
2004	28	PHI	NFL	QB	15	15	41	220	3	12	46.3	28	5.4	14.7	2.7
2005	29	PHI	NFL	QB	9	9	25	55	1	7	28.0	11	2.2	6.1	2.8
2006	30	PHI	NFL	QB	10	10	32	212	3	15	59.4	37	6.6	21.2	3.2
2007	31	PHI	NFL	QB	14	14	50	236	0	17	46.0	40	4.7	16.9	3.6
2008	32	PHI	NFL	QB	16	16	39	147	2	11	43.6	17	3.8	9.2	2.4
2009	33	PHI	NFL	QB	14	14	37	140	2	11	32.4	27	3.8	10.0	2.6
2010	34	WAS	NFL	QB	13	13	29	151	0	8	44.8	36	5.2	11.6	2.2
2011	35	MIN	NFL	QB	6	6	14	59	1	5	35.7	23	4.2	9.8	2.3
13 Y	13 Y	13 Y	13 Y		167	161	616	3459	29	226	49.2	54	5.6	20.7	3.7
17 G	17 G	17 G	17 G		17	16	63	352	3	23	49.2	54	5.6	20.7	3.7
PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI		148	142	573	3249	28	213	49.7	54	5.7	22.0	3.9
WAS	WAS	WAS	WAS		13	13	29	151	0	8	44.8	36	5.2	11.6	2.2
MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN		6	6	14	59	1	5	35.7	23	4.2	9.8	2.3

McNabb went from a career-high 6.3 rush attempts per game in 2002 down to 2.7 in the span of two seasons. At the same time, the Birds won the NFC with a 13-3 record and Donovan slung it to the tune of 3,875 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while B West and Dorsey Levens combined for 1,222 ground yards. They had some running success earlier in Donovan’s career with the Duuuuuce Staley/Correll Buckhalter/B West three-headed monster, while Donovan would always be good for 400-600 ground yards and a handful of touchdowns. He ran for 460 yards and six scores in 2002 on 63 attempts.

Thing is, Donovan wasn’t running like Jalen Hurts runs. He wasn’t running empty-set QB draws or zone reads or RPO anything like that. He was largely able to scramble and make plays with his feet and move the sticks and use his athleticism. He really was very good at this early on, probably underrated honestly with his legs, and after the T.O. era I do remember grumbling that he was trying to become a pocket passer and not use his feet in the same way that he did between 1999 and 2004. The Eagles went a couple of years with some disappointing seasons, Donovan dealt with injuries and missed a bunch of games between 2005 and 2007, then rebounded in 2008 with rookie D Jax and went back to the NFC title game, then that was about it for Donovan’s Birds career.

When you look at Hurts and McNabb, Donovan always had a rocket for an arm and could really sling it, even later in his career when he was in his 30s. He was never a “dual threat” quarterback though, not the way Hurts was truly effective and featured on the ground over his first five NFL seasons. Andy Reid’s offense wasn’t Nick Sirianni’s offense, and there weren’t many guys like Hurts in the league at all. Michael Vick was the prototype and then offense evolved from there. But Donovan did grow as an effective gunslinger while using his legs much less frequently. That came with time.

It’s still TBD to see what happens with Jalen here. Have we seen the peak of his running prowess and attempts? Can he be successful as a pure passer in a different offense? He’s a more conservative thrower and doesn’t have the volume of picks that Donovan did. On the flipside, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith are better than every skill player McNabb had, not named Terrell Owens.

The narrative is incomplete for now, but you could probably start to form a McNabb/Hurts comparison based on the similar decline in running and build on the narrative moving forward. Alas, the Birds are 8-4 and there’s plenty of football left to play.