"Nobody's taking Jalen Hurts over Sam Darnold": Colin Cowherd shakes up NFC QB hierarchy with bold take on Seahawks star after Super Bowl win

In the wake of the Seattle Seahawks’ triumphant 29–13 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, national analyst Colin Cowherd delivered one of the boldest quarterback takes of the offseason — and it has stirred debate across the league.

"If you're building a franchise... in the NFC what quarterback do you take over Sam Darnold? Nobody's taking Brock Purdy... Nobody's taking Jalen Hurts over Sam Darnold."

Where does Darnold rank after the Super Bowl win? @colincowherd weighs in pic.twitter.com/lKAVOplAeS

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 9, 2026

On his popular show Monday, Cowherd elevated Sam Darnold — Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning signal-caller — above several established NFC quarterbacks in his unofficial “hierarchy.” Most notably, the radio host declared that “nobody’s taking Jalen Hurts over Sam Darnold” in today’s landscape, placing Darnold ahead of the Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles as a franchise cornerstone.

Cowherd’s argument leans heavily on Darnold’s unlikely resurgence this season. After signing a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle in March 2025, Darnold led the franchise to its second Lombardi Trophy — ending a long personal career journey that included stints with multiple teams and frequent skepticism about his long-term viability.

“You guys have all, for the last couple of years, been trying to tell me Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts are top 10 quarterbacks. … What quarterback in the NFC tomorrow, if you’re building a franchise, do you take over Sam Darnold? Nobody’s taking Brock Purdy. Injuries. Smaller. Not a GM in the league is taking Brock Purdy. Not a single GM. Nobody’s taking Jalen Hurts over Sam Darnold.”

Cowherd’s stance isn’t just revisionist fan talk — it’s rooted in the tangible results from Seattle’s season. Darnold took a franchise that had not hoisted a Super Bowl in over a decade and guided it to a championship with a measured, turnover-free performance in the title game. Meanwhile, Hurts, coming off his own Super Bowl victory in 2024, has long been viewed as one of the NFC’s elite QBs and was recently ranked among the top 20 players in the NFL Top 100 for 2025.

The debate highlights a larger discussion around how quarterbacks are evaluated in today’s NFL — raw wins and championships versus traditional stat lines and physical tools. Critics of Cowherd’s take argue that Hurts’ consistency and dual-threat ability remain elite, while defenders of Darnold point to durability, adaptability, and ultimately, winning at the highest level when it mattered most.

Whatever side fans land on, Cowherd’s declaration has undeniably shifted the post-Super Bowl narrative. With the NFC landscape evolving and quarterback valuations fluctuating, his bold ranking ensures one thing: the conversation around Sam Darnold — not just as a surprising champion but as a supremely valuable NFC QB — is far from over.