Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts checked in at No. 56 on the NFL Top 100 Players list, and while that number might look underwhelming on the surface, the context behind it reveals a fascinating disconnect between how NFL players view Hurts and how other people do.

We just got done breaking down those ESPN positional rankings over the past few weeks, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. A lot of those lists were brutal for Eagles players. Some of the rankings were flat-out disrespectful. But here’s the key distinction everybody needs to understand about the NFL Top 100 versus those ESPN lists.

The people who actually play the game see it differently

The NFL Top 100 is voted on exclusively by current NFL players. These are the guys suiting up every Sunday, the teammates and opponents who line up with and against Hurts on the field. They ranked him at No. 56. The ESPN rankings, meanwhile, are voted on by executives, coaches, and scouts, and they had Hurts outside the top 10 at his own position, slotting him at No. 17 among quarterbacks.

Think about that for a second. The players who actually compete against Hurts ranked him above guys like Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, and Brock Purdy. Others ranked him way below all of those quarterbacks. You see the difference there? The people who have to tackle him in the open field, who have to deal with his competitiveness on the biggest stages, they respect what Hurts brings to the table far more than the talking heads do.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and act like the NFL Top 100 is the holy grail of player evaluation. It has its flaws too. Look at the trajectory. Hurts debuted on this list in 2023 at No. 3. The following year, before that season, he dropped to No. 15. Then after winning the Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP, after ending a potential Kansas City Chiefs dynasty, he somehow dropped four more spots to No. 19. And now this year? He falls 37 spots to No. 56.

The drop makes no sense when you look at the full picture

So let me get this straight. Hurts wins the Super Bowl, takes home Super Bowl MVP, and drops four spots. Then after a season where he dealt with a decimated offensive line, an incompetent coordinator, and a wide receiver situation that fell apart, he plummets another 37 spots. Is that fair? I don’t think so, but honestly, I don’t think Hurts cares either. And at this point, neither do I.

Hurts is going to prove the doubters wrong. He’s going to come out on a mission. He should finally have some stability and consistency at the coordinator position, and when Hurts has a functional system around him, we’ve seen what he can do. Multiple NFC Championship appearances, multiple Super Bowl runs, a Super Bowl championship, and an MVP performance on the biggest stage. He’s not a perfect player, nobody is saying that. But the man wins, and he wins in moments that matter.

The frustrating part is that the national media continues to punish Hurts for circumstances that were largely outside his control last season. The offensive line was banged up. The play-calling was a mess. The receiving corps had its issues. And despite all of that, Hurts still competed. He still gave the Eagles a chance. But the analysts want to act like he fell off a cliff, while the players who actually face him know better.

Hurts has been doubted at every single level of his football career, and every single time he’s answered. I expect this season to be no different. The Eagles are loaded with talent, the coaching staff has been overhauled, and Hurts has every reason to be motivated. If you’re still ranking him outside the top 10 at his position after everything he’s accomplished, you’re not watching the games. You’re just reading the box scores.