Top 25 Eagles Ranked: Hasson Reddick is Philly's Best Defender, Lands at No. 5

The homecoming for Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Hasson Reddick couldn't have gone any better.

PHILADELPHIA - Things couldn’t have gone much better when it came to the homecoming of Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Hasson Reddick last season.

Signed to a three-year, $45 million contract in free agency, Reddick was as advertised as a disruptive pass rusher and took it up a notch from there with a career year, producing 19.5 sacks (16 in the regular season and 3 1/2 more in the playoffs) and finishing fourth in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year balloting behind only winner Nick Bosa of San Francisco, Dallas’ Micah Parsons and Kansas City’s Chris Jones.

On the list of top-25 Philadelphia players by SI.com’s Eagles Today, Reddick, 28, finished at No. 5 and was the team’s top defender.

The term "game-wrecker" is thrown around a little too literally these days when it comes to top-tier defenders, but Reddick proved to be exactly that in the NFC Championship Game when his blinding front-side rush wallopped San Francisco rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, tearing his UCL and essentially crippling the 49ers’ offense.

The hit, which was completely legal by the way, basically secured the Eagles’ berth in Super Bowl LVII.

Reddick’s story is well-known by now, a tweener who grew up locally in South Jersey before coming out of Temple with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 draft, one spot ahead of where the Eagles selected Derek Barnett.

The Cardinals wasted the first few years of Reddick’s career trying to turn his athleticism into an off-ball linebacker but he just didn’t have the instincts for the position. Tell him to pin his ears back and attack the quarterback, though, and Reddick turns into a terror, a self-described "weapon."

When Arizona finally said no more sunken costs and allowed Reddick to rush the passer in 2020 he responded with 12.5 sacks. He then produced 11 during a one-year stint in Carolina before the Eagles gave him the big multi-year deal.

While it took Reddick six years to make the short trip from North Broad Street in Philadelphia at Temple to South Broad and the Eagles, it took him one season to stamp himself as underpaid despite the $15 million average annual value on his deal.

Reddick is the best pass-rusher on the NFL’s deepest defensive line. The sequel to 70 sacks and becoming the first team in league history to have four players with 10-or-more QB takedowns in 2022-23 will be difficult to match but there is little doubt that Reddick, who also generated 32 QB hits (26 in the regular season and six more in the postseason), 76 pressures (62 and 14) and six forced fumbles (five in the regular season), will do his part.

Eagles Today beat writers Ed Kracz and John McMullen put together their own top 25 players independent of each other’s rankings and then assigned point values to the rankings, 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.

Reddick was No. 4 on McMullen’s list and a tad lower at No. 5 by Kracz.

So far, the rankings have shaken out this way:

No. 25 - Kenny Gainwell

No. 24 - Nicholas Morrow

No. 23 - Reed Blankenship

No. 22 - Terrell Edmunds

No. 21 - Jack Elliott

No. 20 – Nakobe Dean

No. 19 – Jordan Davis

No. 18 - Jalen Carter

No. 17 - D’Andre Swift

No. 16 - Milton Williams

No. 15 - Fletcher Cox

No. 14 - Avonte Maddox

No. 13 - Brandon Graham

No. 12 - James Bradberry

No. 11 - Landon Dickerson

No. 10 - Jordan Mailata

No. 9 - Darius Slay

No. 8 - Josh Sweat

No. 7 - Dallas Goedert

No. 6 - DeVonta Smith

No. 5 - Hasson Reddick

Reddick will again be the top man when it comes to the Eagles and the edge joining fellow Pro Bowl selection Josh Sweat, proven veteran Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith, the No. 30 overall pick in April’s draft, on what looks like perhaps the deepest edge group in the NFL.

Philadelphia also still boats Barnett, Patrick Johnson, the physically imposing Janarius Robinson, and Tarron Jackson, arguably all players that belong on NFL 53-man rosters. In fact, the Eagles are so deep the decision was made to switch Kyron Johnson, like Reddick, an undersized but speedy rusher, to off-ball linebacker in an attempt to find a roster spot for him.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen