Terrell Owens on Jalen Hurts' QB Snub, 49ers Super Bowl Chances
Terrell Owens is fondly remembered as one of the best NFL receivers of all time.
Owens may have starred for a number of teams, five to be exact, during his NFL career, but he put up major numbers everywhere he went. During the course of his 15-season career, Owens produced nine 1,000-yard seasons and garnered five First-Team All-Pro selections.
The 52-year-old wide receiver ended his career ranked in the top three in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Owens, who is hosting a new podcast series called Get To The Point with Chris Spencer, talked about a range of topics, including his former teams, Jalen Hurts, Jerry Jones and his favorite quarterback from his playing career.
Get To The Point releases new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays through streaming platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.
For fans who want to put a number on Owens’ takes, a Polymarket invite code is one way to get set up on the prediction market and track odds on the Eagles, 49ers, and Cowboys as the season unfolds.
Q. How did your podcast come together?
Owens: The podcast is called Get To the Point, and you can find it on all your social media platforms or wherever you’re listening to podcasts at GTTP Pod, or if you got YouTube watching YouTube, go to @GTTPPodcast. But how it came about is, I’ve been trying to kind of get back into the podcast space. I did one a few years back, I did it with a former college player and good friend of mine, Matthew Hatchette. It was called Get Your Popcorn Ready with T.O. and Hatch. Obviously in the podcast space, everybody’s been asking me when I’m gonna get back into the space. The reason I’m not doing it with Hatch is because now Hatch is a full-time head coach at Huntington Beach High School. So shout out to Matthew Hatchette and doing that. He’s doing amazing there.
Everybody’s been wondering when I’m going to get back into the space, and so if I was going to get back into it, I needed somebody that obviously I had chemistry with that’s kind of well-versed in a number of topics (Spencer) that’s funny, but obviously chemistry and camaraderie. All those things matter when you’re working with somebody or on a show. Just doing anything, it’s almost kind of like with a partner, a relationship. You gotta have somebody that you can coexist with, with the good, bad, and the ugly. And so I’m the good-looking guy, and he’s the ugly guy. So it makes for a good show.
Q. The San Francisco 49ers have gotten off to a heck of a start to the season. Can this team reach a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl? Can they finish the job as they’re getting older?
Owens: Well, you never know. I think if you look at the last couple of years. When you look at the last three or four years, you think about the Kansas City Chiefs. Obviously, youth plays a big part in it. Health plays a tremendous part in it. You see with the injuries that the Chiefs sustained throughout the course of the last couple of years, especially at the quarterback position, which is a position you know that is very impactful when it comes to the Chiefs. They’re going to be only as good as Patrick Mahomes. But as it relates to the Niners, I’m going to segue and use that Chiefs kind of blueprint model with the 49ers. Obviously, Brock Purdy. He’s going to be a big part to their success. Can he do it? Can he do it alone? Absolutely not. Health is going to play a big part in where they go this season, obviously they have some new additions at the receiver position. Mike Evans, some other guys like De’Zhaun Stribling.
With the 49ers, you got Christian McCaffrey, you got Mike Evans, you got Stribling, you got Brock Purdy. Obviously, defense, they’re gonna bode well. They’re gonna gel. They’re gonna be really where they need to be. Obviously, (Joey) Bosa coming back is gonna bode well. They got Dre Greenlaw. You got all these missiles at linebacker, very smart guys. That’s gonna be a key to the success of the Niners. And then you got Deebo coming back, reuniting with his old team. I think Kyle Shanahan has realized with Deebo, you have to use him in a number of ways. You can’t just pigeonhole him to one position and think that he’s going to be the guy for you with his ability. Speaking of Deebo, he can help spell CMC sometimes at the running back position. I don’t think he’s a full-blown receiver, but he can add a lot of dimension, a lot of ways to attack an offense, and he can also help you on special teams.
I don’t know how well he can do punts, but obviously kickoff return when you get the ball in the hands of a dynamic player like him, it bodes well for your offense. It just adds another element and layer to what you can do, especially when injuries and things of that nature that’s inevitable may come up throughout the course of the season.
Q. Is the key for this team to be healthy because they seem to always be injured and whatnot?
Owens: Absolutely.
Q. They played in a tough division, but is that the key?
Owens: Oh yeah, absolutely. I think they would say that for themselves. The last few years they’ve been riddled by injuries. I didn’t mention George Kittle, but a tight end who’s going to be just as good as a Travis Kelce when they’re hitting on all cylinders. Kittle can be to Brock Purdy what Kelce is to Patrick Mahomes.
Q. With the San Francisco 49ers, obviously there’s a little bit of an opening here with the Rams, right? Because Garrett is now out for the next month, right? He has that injury. This is a team that can absolutely beat a team like the Seahawks and the Rams, and win a Super Bowl if they’re healthy? They have that potential, right?
Owens: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, injuries, like you said, we’re talking about that. That plays a big part not only in just football but any sport, especially when it comes to football because when you get to the playoffs, it’s not like any other sports. The other sports that are out there, where there’s a best of series, you got to play your best football at one time. You only get one time to play your best football. You don’t get weeks, best of series to get healthy. Like I said, all these basketball and these baseball teams where you have a best of series where if you win, you enable yourself and you allow yourself to get healthier as you go through the series. That’s not the case with football. So obviously this is going to be a big factor in how well their season unfolds.
Q. As far as the Eagles, I’ll transition into your other former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. They came out with a close win over the Commanders yesterday. We all know they’re a couple years removed from the Super Bowl. They had the tough playoff loss last year, lost A.J. Brown. What is their ceiling right now? The Giants are coming up right. They just beat the Cowboys. How do you look at the Eagles as a team right now?
Owens: Those Eagles are going to be as good as Jalen Hurts takes him, and he’s obviously top two or three quarterback in this league. It’s really a travesty. It’s just disrespectful, I hear they don’t even have this guy in the top 15 of top quarterbacks in the league, which is really stupid and ridiculous, considering he’s been to two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl MVP. That’s crazy. This kid, he knows how to win. It may not be flashy. It may not be with the gaudy numbers in the air with the expectations of your Joe Burrows, your Justin Herberts, your Patrick Mahomes, your Josh Allens.
But Jalen Hurts is doing what is expected of the three guys, the three quarterbacks that I just named. To not have him in the top five is just stupid. You shouldn’t even have a job as an analyst or a commentator to not have this guy in your top five of quarterbacks, considering what he’s done in a short period of time. That team is going to go as far as they go, and that defense is stacked with a lot of great guys on the defensive side of the ball that’s going to be flying around this year.
Q. Why do you think Jalen doesn’t get the credit that he deserves? Like you said, you consider him a top two, top three quarterback, and his resume kind of shows that, right? So why is it that he doesn’t get his credit?
Owens: I have no idea. I don’t know if they’re doing it… I’m kind of just stumped for words as to why, because the numbers speak for themselves. You know what I mean? It’s like there’s no denying what he’s doing on the football field. I don’t know if he doesn’t pass the eye test, the numbers. He’s not doing anything flashy or sexy. I don’t understand why he doesn’t get the recognition that he should deserve. I don’t know if it’s a concerted effort by some people in the media to just sweep him under the rug and constantly talk about guys that haven’t done anything with the expectations of their draft status. This guy has done nothing but win at every level.
Q. I think you brought up something interesting. Maybe it’s the eye test because Lamar, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, they immediately stand out to you when you watch them on the field. You know that they stand out. Jalen obviously does have a lot of talent, but maybe not to the degree of a Lamar or so forth. And then the numbers maybe aren’t as gaudy as certain quarterbacks. But the bottom line is, all he does is win. He’s already won a Super Bowl, unlike Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson. Those guys haven’t won Super Bowls. Josh Allen, too.
Owens: He gets the job done. That’s all that matters. I don’t know if they’re looking at personality, his persona. The guy’s marketable. I mean, he’s doing everything that he needs to do for his team to win. He’s a dual threat. He’s gotten better in every aspect, every area of his game again. Sometimes he has flashes of some of those guys that you mentioned depending on the matchup and the games, but I think I can liken him and take this for however you like, but you can liken him to a guy in the NBA, Kawhi Leonard. Or a guy, or even better than that, I’ll go even further than that and give you a better example. You can scratch Kawhi Leonard. I’ll go with Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.
All he did was win. It wasn’t sexy. He wasn’t going to give you too much. But the guy, the top basketball player that has ever played the game.
Q. Can you come up with a quarterback player comparison for Jalen?
Owens: Oh man. That’s tough. I think maybe Russell Wilson fell in that category a bit until he fell off. He still was a top 10 quarterback. But again, like I said, if you’re not winning, if you’re not doing it sexy, I don’t know from an eye test standpoint, or what these commentators or broadcasters are looking for, or what their parameters are. What is it that they’re looking for to put an individual in their top? What are they looking for? What is the criteria? That’s what I’m looking for. What is the criteria to make or put Jalen Hurts in the top five? What doesn’t he possess to be in the top five?
Q. Right, exactly, because, like you said, the resume shows that. He’s won a Super Bowl unlike those guys that I just mentioned, who are considered top three, top five quarterbacks.
Owens: Oh yeah, for sure. I don’t know what he needs to do, and to be quite honest, I don’t really think he needs to do anything. At the end of the day, eventually he’s going to get his just due, and for me, I’m just gonna get to the point for Jalen. He just kind of has to just keep the main thing, the main thing. He always says that, and that’s pretty simple and plain as it can get.
Q. What is the Cowboys’ ceiling this year? Where do they rank in the hierarchy of NFC teams?
Owens: They’re already starting off on the wrong foot. They already lost one against the Giants. But there’s really nothing to say about the Dallas Cowboys. Honestly, I don’t even waste my time on them because it’s giving them a lot of airtime that they don’t deserve until they start winning. Until they get to the playoffs, what more is there to talk about with the Cowboys and the fans every year? “Oh, this is our year. We’re gonna win it.” Well, you already started off on the wrong foot.
Q. They’re just an overrated team, based upon their name, based upon the value of the franchise, all that stuff?
Owens: At the end of the day, I think Jerry, he’s not really concerned about that. Yeah, winning helps, but I mean, he’s kept the team in contention. Whether he wins the Super Bowl or gets to the playoffs, the bottom line for him is money. He’s selling all his fans across the country. He’s selling them a dream every year, and they’re buying it. I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid.
Q. Makes sense. So if I were to put you on the spot, are the Cowboys making it to the playoffs? Yes or no this year? What would you say?
Owens: I mean they might. Again, I don’t really know too much. I know they have Dak. They got two receivers that are very talented. How that unfolds to a winning season, I don’t know. Like I said, they’ve already started off on the wrong foot, losing a division game against the Giants, I’m going to say no.
Q. I’ll round things out with this fun question over here. Best quarterback that you played with, as far as relationship-wise?
Owens: Let me say something surprising. I’ve told people this, it’s Ryan Fitzpatrick when I was in Buffalo. Clearly, I was kind of like on the last couple of years of my career. A lot of people didn’t think of me to go in and make an impact. Considering the amount of time and the quarterback carousel that they had. I played decent considering the first quarterback, Trent Edwards, didn’t play so well, they wanted me to come in to help groom him. He got injured. There were a couple of quarterbacks in and out of the lineup. I outplayed their starting receiver, leading receiver over the years prior to me getting there in Lee Evans.
I was like 100 or something away from 1,000 yards. That was really not being that involved in the offense until, unfortunately for Trent, he ended up getting hurt, and then I ended up playing a lot with Ryan Fitzpatrick toward the end of the season, and I ended up putting up some big numbers. I would say him chemistry-wise.
IMAGE CREDIT: ALAMY