Its a Fantasy Friday on Bank On It! I’ll be starting a new fantasy topic every week until the start of pre-season. This week is breakout fantasy players and I’m starting out with quarterback. A lot goes into a breakout season for a QB. Situation, play-calling, natural progression and of course luck. Josh Allen’s 2020 season was truly unpredictable. His 2019 season didn’t give any reason to believe he would break out the way he did. If you want to draft a guy that is under the radar and could pay off with huge dividends for you, Jalen Hurts could provide that for you in 2021.

I didn’t just like what I saw from Jalen Hurts last season; I loved it. Carson Wentz was a complete dumpster fire in 2020. Doug Pederson did not see eye to eye with him. Wentz did a horrible job of leading that offense. Jalen Hurts immediately gave the Philadelphia Eagles some juice when he relieved Wentz from week 12 on. He was QB3 throughout the fantasy playoffs in large part to his rushing ability. He ran 38 times for 238 yards and one touchdown to go along with 5 passing scores from weeks 14-16. Getting a full off-season as the QB1 should boost his confidence in the offense that has one shiny new toy: Alabama rookie wideout DeVonta Smith. Smith and Hurts played together at Alabama in 2019 which bodes well for their ability to form chemistry early. A healthy Jalen Reagor and Miles Sanders gives Hurts some solid weapons. Dallas Goedert should also provide Hurts a safety valve. He had the second most catches on the team last year.

Think about this. This man knows how to deal with some bullshit which is an underrated quality in a quarterback. Mental toughness cannot be overlooked and Hurts has it from what I have seen since his college days at Alabama. He was benched during a National championship game in favor of Tua Tagovioloa. That didn’t stop him from leading Oklahoma and having a brilliant season as a graduate transfer. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. That mental fortitude served him well on an Eagles team that was a far cry from those teams he played on at Alabama and Oklahoma. Hurts did not have a bunch of high-level weapons on offense yet made the Eagles competitive—something Wentz was not able to do. Hurts’ ability to galvanize the troops played a bigger role than people realize.

The only question is whether Hurts can improve his accuracy. Out of 148 pass attempts he only completed 52 percent of them. However, while he was wildly inconsistent, there is a lot to like about Hurts quick decision making and ability to read defenses. He showed flashes of being a very good NFL quarterback. Go look at his game tape in Week 15 vs the Cardinals. That was a man you can win with. He made smart plays and had good ball placement in all of the games he played. I fully expect his completion percentage to shoot up to a low 60 number. While his receiving options are solid, they are not dynamic at least not yet. Smith has the most potential but it will be up to Hurts to unlock that potential and turn it into production.

Hurts has little NFL experience as do most of his receiving options. I would expect a heavy dose of Miles Sanders to start the year— if first year coach Nick Sirianni is wise and judging off his introductory press conference that could be a toss up. There is a lot of risk in trusting Hurts. I would not bank on him being your #1 starter. With that being said, he is a high-level athlete who can improvise when he needs to buy time in the pocket. Hurts could surprise and be a solid dual-threat QB that is vital in today’s fantasy football. I think the addition of Smith will enhance Hurts confidence and ability making him a smart late round stash in case he turns into a fantasy star. The Eagles could surprise some people this season.