Jason Whitlock and Shaun King have zeroed in on three of the NFL’s most talked-about quarterbacks this season — Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Jalen Hurts — and offered blunt takes on what’s going wrong and what might yet go right for each. Their conversation digs into injury hesitancy, accountability and coaching instability, and each player’s unique path toward redemption or regression. Below is a rewritten, direct account of their assessments and the underlying arguments driving them.
The hosts opened by laying out the criticism each quarterback is facing from frustrated fans, then moved into a more nuanced look at why those criticisms might stick or miss the mark. For Lamar Jackson the worry is not talent, it’s the aftereffects of injuries shaping his decision-making. For Trevor Lawrence the question is whether early fame and a massive contract sidestepped the accountability needed to refine his game.
King points to Lamar’s history and current manner on the field and suggests a simpler explanation than decline: caution. He argues Lamar may be “unwilling to use his athleticism, which makes me think that he’s trying to guard against further injuring whatever his ailment is,” which frames the static offense as a health-driven survival tactic. With two MVPs and elite dual-threat numbers on his résumé, King urges patience and credits a “track record of success” as reason to hold off panic.
King’s short-term prognosis for Jackson is pragmatic: monitor next season before writing a final verdict. “If this persists into next year, I think we can circle back around to this topic,” he says, leaving the door open for a reassessment when circumstances evolve. That stance balances skepticism with deference to proven ability, asking fans and evaluators to separate temporary form from long-term decline.
When it comes to Trevor Lawrence, King shifts tone and gets much less forgiving, arguing that the quarterback’s environment enabled sloppy development. “Has never been held accountable for his deficiencies. Incubated at Clemson. Not exposed to any of the criticism or ridicule. … Got the big contract way too early,” he insists, laying blame not simply at the player’s feet but at the system that shielded him.
King paints Lawrence as talented but emotionally uncalibrated for the position. “He’s a very frenetically wired player, and I don’t think you can play that position if you can’t be calm when it’s chaotic,” he says, pinpointing poise as a non-negotiable trait for lasting success. The prescription is straightforward: real accountability, tougher coaching and consequences that force growth rather than protect status.
He doubles down on that corrective path by saying coaches must hold players to task on fundamentals. “Nobody’s held him accountable for some of the fundamental flaws he has, some of the bad decisions he makes — like, really holding his feet to the fire. … He’s never been faced with the threat of being benched for his deficiencies.” That kind of pressure, King believes, could finally catalyze Lawrence into the elite passer many hoped he’d become.
On Jalen Hurts King’s tone softens into admiration mixed with a call for stability, pushing back on underappreciation. “I think [Hurts] might be the most underappreciated player in the National Football League,” he states, then outlines how constant schematic churn has masked Hurts’ progress more than exposed any fatal flaws.
King points to a carousel of play callers as a major limiting factor. “Jalen Hurts has changed coordinators the last four years,” he notes, and adds that Hurts has “[spent] every off season learning a new system as opposed to focusing on fixing some of [his] deficiencies,” which interrupts the kind of incremental development veterans like Manning or Brady enjoyed.
Even with that instability, Hurts remains highly effective, and King argues the Eagles’ quarterback deserves more credit for what he delivers under shifting conditions. “I don’t think he gets enough credit,” he says plainly, while admitting the player is still a work in progress: “Is he a finished product? Absolutely no. I would love to see what Jalen Hurts could do from a development standpoint if Philly could finally give him continuity.”
The conversation ends by offering three different narratives for three different quarterbacks: a star possibly guarding against injury, a gifted player in need of accountability, and a rising talent hindered by coaching turnover. Each story points to distinct solutions — patience, tougher coaching, and stability — and each leaves open the possibility that next season will tell who adapted and who did not.
