Anybody who is chronically online has seen the famous meme format about peak male performance. “You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.” Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields each had their team’s highest share of carries in the game. Each are sturdy, with stocky, athletic builds fit for delivering and receiving punishment from defenders. You may not like it, but the future of QB play is in these mobile quarterbacks.
Recently, I dove into the numbers around mobile QBs, and the rising use of athletic quarterbacks in the run game. The Baltimore Ravens started it with Lamar Jackson, and the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are extending the trend.
Eagles/Bears Would Be Doing a Disservice Not Running Their QBs
There are still teams that don’t get it. Justin Herbert doesn’t have a single designed run in 2022 aside from QB sneaks. Trevor Lawrence, who was about as effective on the ground in college as Fields, only has 12 designed carries. And while Lawrence certainly isn’t built like Fields, Hurts, or even Herbert, the QB run is an incredibly valuable offensive chess piece.
Sports Illustrated’s Zach Hicks recently wrote about the changing QB landscape and how our opinion on a “safe” or “high-floor” quarterback needs to change. Fields’ season is a perfect encapsulation of this.
It began much like 2021 did, with Fields looking like one of the worst QBs in the NFL. But as the season progressed, Luke Getsy and Co. figured out that the former Ohio State QB had, in fact, two highly-functioning legs that could propel the 6-foot-2, 230-pound quarterback at about a 4.4 40-yard dash pace.
The top six rushers in EPA per attempt among those with 50 rushes are quarterbacks. Fields and Hurts are the top two rushers in that category. That means that quarterbacks are the most effective runners in the NFL, mostly because defenses cannot commit the numbers to consistently defend them.
MORE: Mobile Quarterbacks Evolution
Philadelphia isn’t opposed to using Hurts in the traditional option game, but he makes his living off high-leverage, short-yardage situations in their patented “QB sneak scrum.”
That’s not to say Hurts isn’t also explosive because, despite his short-yard usage, he still averages 4.8 yards per carry. He’s also 11th in the league with 25 rushes of more than 10 yards.
Neither QB is at the processing level of the top pocket quarterbacks, but they don’t need to be. Fields is a long way away from being someone who will pick apart zone coverage with the quick passing attack. Hurts has shown continuous growth, but nobody would mistake him for Drew Brees or Patrick Mahomes, either.
Eagles Win Showed Why They’re So Dangerous
Most teams must pass the ball with great effectiveness to win games at the NFL level. Hurts had a bad day at the office passing against an underwhelming Bears defense. Although one of his interceptions probably should have been called back for a defensive holding, he wasn’t sharp in the dropback game.
But Philadelphia is so ridiculously dangerous because they can beat teams down with their run game when the passing attack has an off day, which was the case against Chicago. Hurts posted a negative dropback EPA on 43 dropbacks. But he posted a 58% success rate on 12 designed rushes and an average EPA of 0.49.
Hurts has 23 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons, which leads the NFL over that span. This archetype is here to stay because the traditional dropback passer is as good as dead.
Hurts also has days where the Eagles’ passing attack can dominate games, as they did against Tennessee. According to DVOA, Philadelphia ranks seventh in passing DVOA and first in rushing.
You may not like it, but you cannot argue its effectiveness.
With Justin Fields, No Play Is Dead
Why is having a mobile QB so enticing? Well, it’s because explosive plays are the best indication of future points that we have. And sometimes even a 2nd-and-27 is no match for a QB who can scoot.
The Bears haven’t even necessarily figured out their offensive structure surrounding Fields. They don’t have Philadelphia’s offensive line or their receivers. They’d rather run from under center still than run the option.
They still must expand their horizons. But what Fields does on scrambles is unmatched, and it’s why he’s leading the league in yards per carry and why he became the third QB to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
Downfall of the Pocket Passer
The lack of cohesive practice time is partially why the pocket QB has died. It takes an offensive mind that can cultivate an offense around a young passer to make things as simple as possible to find success. But even that hasn’t been sustainable for young immobile passers outside of San Francisco.
It takes thousands upon thousands of reps to perfect the craft. And those are reps that simply don’t exist due to the collective bargaining agreement. That means quarterbacks must be able to create with their legs. They don’t need to be Lamar Jackson, but they must have some creativity on the ground to make up for their deficiencies as processors.