Jalen Hurts vs Mac Jones: Who Should You Start?
Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback averaged 19.1 PPG in 2025, a full 6.7 points per game ahead of Mac Jones's 12.4 with the San Francisco 49ers. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
A 6.7-PPG gap gives Jalen Hurts the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Jalen Hurts offers meaningful rushing upside with 421 yards on the ground in 2025, which separates his floor from a pocket passer like Mac Jones (2151 passing yards, 13 touchdowns). In games where the passing matchup looks ugly, that rushing production can be the entire difference on a start/sit call.
Jalen Hurts has his bye in Week 5, and Mac Jones rests in Week 9. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at quarterback for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
