The NFL QB Who’s Redefining Leadership: Why Analysts Call Him the Ultimate Team Player

Here’s a riddle for you: What do you get when you mix a Super Bowl champ, an elite scrambler, and a quarterback who seemingly couldn’t care less about headlines or stat sheets? Hint—it’s not your typical NFL MVP narrative, and it’s definitely not Jalen Hurts hogging the spotlight like you’d expect. The Philadelphia Eagles’ star quarterback keeps flying under the radar, quietly dissecting defenses with an intelligence that makes you wonder why more people aren’t buzzing about him. Analyst Greg Cosell nailed it best, calling Hurts a “pure team player”—but what does that really mean in a league obsessed with flash and numbers? Stick around, because the story behind Hurts’ understated brilliance might just flip the whole idea of quarterback greatness on its head.

(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Eagles‘ offense looked sharp in Week 1, but quarterback Jalen Hurts still doesn’t seem to get enough credit, or at least as much as his peers do.

That doesn’t seem to bother Hurts at all, which is why analyst Greg Cosell recently praised the Super Bowl champion with three notable words.

“I think Jalen Hurts has an unbelievable understanding of what he is and how to play within that offense. In terms of intelligence, he’s one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league. You never think about this in football the way you do with other sports, but he is a pure team player. He understands exactly what is needed situationally through every game in order for the their offense to be efficient. He threw for 152 yards this week (against the Dallas Cowboys). That’s normal. In eight of his 18 starts last year, he threw for less than 200 yards. That’s not the way to measure Jalen Hurts and what the Eagles’ offense is,” Cosell said.

“I think Jalen Hurts has an UNBELIEVABLE understanding of what he is and how to play within that offense…he's one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league…”

“He is a pure team player.”@GregCosell discusses the Eagles Quarterback: pic.twitter.com/FzdCfX16Sk

— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) September 11, 2025

Hurts is very athletic and one of the best scramblers in the game.

More importantly, he seemingly has no ego, and he knows that he doesn’t need to do more than he’s asked to do to help his team win.

His numbers are far from flashy, and he may not be a top 10 quarterback in terms of talent or skill, but he doesn’t need to be that to be a winner.

Hurts is a leader and a competitor, and above all that, a champion, which is much more than most of the quarterbacks who are usually ranked ahead of him can say.

The Eagles didn’t reach two Super Bowls in spite of him. They got there because of him, and he actually outplayed Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes each time.

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