Who Are They? 3 Eagles On PFF Top 50 List
The Philadelphia Eagles are considered by most to be favorites in the NFC as Super Bowl contenders following their appearance in the big game last season.
While the Eagles lost a good amount of talent from last year’s roster, they kept enough and even added enough to keep their championship window open.
Three of those players landed on Pro Football Focus’ 50 best players in the NFL right now list.
“Few tackles are given as little help as Lane Johnson,” PFF says of their No. 15-ranked player. “(He) dominates on an island and didn’t allow a sack or a knockdown last season, including the team’s run to the Super Bowl. Johnson surrendered just 11 total pressures…He is as good as it gets at the position.”
Of course, these days where there’s Johnson there’s usually center Jason Kelce. Kelce decided to return for another NFL season when many thought he might retire.
It turns out, not only does PFF support the decision, but they have him ranked as the second-best center in the game today, at No. 46 overall.
“Kelce is still as good a run-blocker as any center in football,” PFF says. “He allowed just 11 total pressures in 20 games in pass protection but didn’t give up a single sack or hit over the year.”
The Philadelphia center comes in behind Kansas City Chiefs snapper Creed Humphrey, who is the grading site’s best at the position and No. 33 overall.
Sandwiched between the two offensive linemen, where he never wants to find himself in real life, is star receiver A.J. Brown, who comes in No. 25 on the list.
“Brown had already proved that he owned elite skills against pretty much every variety of coverage while he was in Tennessee,” says PFF. “His first season in Philadelphia showed the transformative effect he could have on an entire offense, contributing to career years from DeVonta Smith and Jalen Hurts.”
As quarterbacks go, Hurts certainly isn’t victim to a shortage of available weapons and bodyguards to help keep him clean.
Perhaps that’s why the Eagles’ quarterback was left off this list, in favor of the players around him that many perceive made him better rather than the opposite.
As long as Hurts keeps his team ahead of the Dallas Cowboys and gets his name on the list of Super Bowl champions soon, though, we doubt he’ll care about being left off this one.
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