Top 25 Eagles Ranked: CB Avonte Maddox Checks in at No. 14 Despite Injuries
PHILADELPHIA – Defensive tackles have claimed four of the previous five spots in our ranking of the top-25 current Philadelphia Eagles.
That little run ends now, with a cornerback checking in at No. 14, and it is the first cornerback to break into the rankings. It’s a little too soon for the veterans of the position – Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
The ranking may even be a little low for him, but here he is:
CB AVONTE MADDOX
He arrived in what may have been one of the best Eagles draft classes in terms of quality picks in just about every round. That would be the 2018 group that saw Maddox picked in the fourth round, five picks before the Eagles grabbed pass rusher Josh Sweat, whose turn has yet to come in these rankings.
That draft also delivered Dallas Goedert, Jordan Mailata, and Matt Pryor.
Speaking of the rankings, the process behind the top-25 list started with Eagles beat writers Ed Kracz and John McMullen putting together their own top 25 players independent of each other’s rankings and then assigning point values, with 25 points awarded to the player ranked first on each list, 24 to the player ranked second, and so on, with one point going to the player that was put 25th.
The highest ranking from either reporter breaks any ties in the ballot.
Maddox actually finished in a tie for 13th but lost out on the tiebreaker. The 13th-ranked player will be revealed on Saturday.
Here's how the rankings shake out so far:
No. 25 – Running back Kenny Gainwell
No. 24 – Linebacker Nicholas Morrow
No. 23 – Safety Reed Blankenship
No. 22 – Safety Terrell Edmunds
No. 21 – Kicker Jake Elliott
No. 20 – Linebacker Nakobe Dean
No. 19 – Defensive tackle Jordan Davis
No. 18 – Defensive tackle Jalen Carter
No. 17 – Running back D’Andre Swift
No. 16 – Defensive tackle Milton Williams
No. 15 – Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox
Maddox, who played his college ball at the University of Pittsburgh but is from Detroit, struggled with injuries last year, limiting him to nine games. The nickel cornerback packed a wallop in those games, though, with 43 tackles, an interception, two quarterback hits, and a sack.
Injuries also limited him to 10 games in 2020 and 12 in 2019.
When healthy, however, he is considered one of the top-five best in the game at his position. Maddox also showed some versatility early in his career, when injuries in the back end forced him into playing safety.
The Eagles rewarded him with a second contract heading into the 2022 season. It’s a deal that has two years left to run with a salary cap charge this season at $4.05 million but jumps to $10.05M next year.
That kind of number will likely be renegotiated or perhaps the Eagles find a way to move on from Maddox. They are expected to train Zech McPhearson in the slot as Maddox’s backup this season.
As for now, though Maddox is one of the team’s top-15 players on the roster.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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