Take Four | From quarterback talk to controversial skating star

This Is Jesse Puljujärvi’s Make-Or-Break Year // Alex Kiger

It’s not often a player’s eighth NHL season is his “make-or-break” year, but that is where Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jesse Puljujärvi finds himself. 

A former 4th overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers, his time up north did not go according to plan. After six underwhelming years with the Oilers and a quick tenure spent in Carolina, Pittsburgh picked him up last December on a rare in-season professional tryout as he recovered from offseason double hip surgery. 

The Penguins slow-played his process back to the NHL, and after two months of conditioning in the AHL, he was called up to finish the year at PPG Paints Arena. Puljujärvi underwhelmed fans, though, and finished with three goals and one assist in 22 games. 

Now with a full healthy summer behind him, Puljujärvi is on the season opening roster for Pittsburgh, having made the team thanks to some dazzling preseason highlights in training camp. 

Realistically speaking, this is Puljujärvi’s last true chance in the NHL. At 26, he is entering the second of a two-year deal signed with the Penguins. Puljujärvi’s play this season will serve as one of the more interesting side stories following the Penguins this year. 

Give Jalen Hurts a break // Matthew Scabilloni

It’s no secret that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has had a rough start to his 2024 campaign. He has thrown for 930 yards, tossed four touchdowns and committed four interceptions for a 59.3 quarterback rating — which is not good at all.

By the numbers, the 2022 MVP runner-up has flat-out stunk this year. But if you don’t look at the numbers and realize what he has dealt with this season, it makes sense he has had a brutal first four starts. 

Hurts lost Hall-of-Fame center Jason Kelce to retirement and had to learn an entirely new offensive system from new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after the previous offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, was fired in the offseason. 

But that’s it, right? No. Three of Hurts’ key offensive teammates have only played two or fewer full games. 

Pro Bowl wide receiver DeVonta Smith played the entirety of the first two games but got injured by a cheap shot from a Saints defensive lineman in the third game and missed the entirety of the Eagles’ fourth game. All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown only played in the first game of the season before going down with injury, and All-Pro left tackle Lane Johnson only played a full game in week one before dealing with nagging injuries for the next few weeks. 

On top of all the injuries, Hurts has a head coach who is in the hot seat. Nick Sirianni has all of Philadelphia at his neck, and without Hurts, he would have gotten fired long before this season.

At the end of the day, nothing has gone his way in 2024, and fans should give Jalen Hurts a break.

Jayden Daniels will be the first rookie MVP in 67 years // Zane Ingram

The NFL has only ever had one rookie MVP — running back Jim Brown in 1957. I predict Jayden Daniels will etch his name as second on this list. In a league that has a stacked pool of quarterback talent, Daniels’ consistency has set him apart from other top performers.

Kirk Cousins had his 500+ yard game, and Kyler Murray boasts the only perfect passer rating game in the 2024 season. Despite this, no quarterback is as consistent as Daniels. The usual NFL MVP candidates have not even performed as well as Daniels thus far. 

Josh Allen completed less than a third of his passes against the Texans in week five, and Patrick Mahomes has just as many touchdowns as interceptions.  

Consistency is the key to the MVP in the 2024-25 season, and it is time to talk about Daniels.  

He boasts the third overall quarterback rating in the NFL. He has eight total touchdowns on only four turnovers, and most importantly, he is a winner. The Commanders have existed in mediocrity for a very long time, last making the playoffs in 2020 with a losing record.

Daniels has led the Commanders to a 4-1 record, starting 4-0 for the first time since 1991, behind a not-so-great defense. Despite this lack of defensive help, the Commanders still find a way to win. It is time to think Daniels could make history after 67 years as a rookie MVP. 

The last 11 MVPs have been quarterbacks, and these quarterbacks have at-large been winners.  Jayden Daniels is definitely a winner and will make history this year.  

Cam Ward is not a Heisman quarterback // Alex Jurkuta

Fans have made much of Miami quarterback Cam Ward and his stellar start to the season. With impressive performances against Cal — even if the refs helped him out — and USF, Ward has quickly become a top Heisman candidate. However, he is not the perfect Heisman candidate that fans have made him out to be.

In the first six games of his senior season, he has thrown five interceptions. This total has already eclipsed or tied the past three Heisman quarterbacks and makes it clear his high passing totals come more from his willingness to make reckless throws than his ability to rise to the occasion. Heisman quarterbacks are defined by their overall ability and efficiency, not just their impressive throwing numbers — especially at the expense of ball security.

The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best college player every year, and with that comes the standards of past trophy winners. While the trophy is disproportionately awarded to quarterbacks, there are many examples of non-quarterbacks winning the award, and this year especially there are a couple of great candidates in Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter, who are both having historic seasons. 

While these two candidates make it even harder to argue that a quarterback should win the trophy, Cam Ward’s gameplay hasn’t even raised to the standard of a typical Heisman’s season — much less a season where players at other positions are a much better fit.