The Athletic released a piece Monday in which five coaches and seven front-office executives gave their opinions on the top 25 players in the 25-and-under age range leaguewide.
After the results were compiled, it was Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert who earned the top spot at his position, barely beating out Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller Jalen Hurts.
The Athletic's Mike Jones wrote the following on that front:
"The Chargers star faced stiff competition from Jalen Hurts. But Herbert — who has passed for 5,000-plus yards once and 4,000-plus yards twice — has a larger body of work, so he earned the edge. Our experts said that although Hurts is impressive, they want to see him duplicate last season's production before they rank him ahead of Herbert.
"They also noted that Herbert has less to work with compared to Hurts' supporting cast on both sides of the ball. Keep an eye on Trevor Lawrence, with a playoff win over Herbert under his belt; and Justin Fields, who has all of the physical gifts but now must prove he can make strides as a passer."
Although the experts clearly stated that they want to see more out of Hurts after his breakout year, Herbert over him right now is an interesting take given the latter player's sensational 2022 season, which landed him second in the NFL MVP voting.
Hurts accounted for 35 touchdowns (22 passing, 13 rushing) and 4,361 yards (3,701 passing, 760 rushing) in the regular season despite missing two games. Including playoffs, Philadelphia went 16-2 in his starts en route to the NFC title.
The ex-Alabama and Oklahoma star nearly led the Eagles to their second Lombardi Trophy, completing 27-of-38 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 70 yards and three more scores in a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Herbert is sensational in his own right, though. He played nearly all of last year with fractured rib cartilage suffered in Week 2 against the Chiefs but still managed to complete 68.2 percent of his passes for 4,739 yards and 25 touchdowns (just 10 interceptions). The year before, Herbert dominated with 38 touchdowns and 5,014 passing yards in his second NFL season.
Ultimately, Hurts and Herbert are part of a talented generation of young quarterbacks that will carry the game for years, and both are exceptional. They were also notably joined on the top-25 list by Jacksonville Jaguars signal-caller Trevor Lawrence at No. 15.
