Hope everyone out there had a pleasant Monday off for President’s Day…or at least got out of work early enough to swing by the Acme before they ran out of milk & eggs. The local radio stations took advantage of the holiday and (predictably) paralleled our nations forefathers to local athletes, coaches, broadcasters, etc. You know how it went: “Who’s on the Mt. Rushmore of Philadelphia sports right now?” It’s an easy way to generate conversation. It’s an open-the-phone-lines kind of day that helps pass the cold winter hours as more interesting times in the NFL approach. This is not a criticism of the radio hosts by any means. They have to engage an audience and fill the hours.
The audience, in total lock-step, is more than willing to join in these discussions if it means they don’t have to discuss the direction of any one team in particular. And for good reason: the Phillies will be a bottom-dweller for several years to come. The Flyers are making a late push but will likely falter at the hands of the goaltender…again. The Sixers are actually hoping their overachieving team starts to fall back to Earth so they can lock up another #1 draft pick. Instead of talking X’s & O’s for these squads, wouldn’t you rather just call up and say “Giroux, Lee, Chip, & Imbiid?” It’s what the fans need right now. They don’t need to focus on the talent of one team because the talent on three of the teams is, frankly, middling. It’s better for the collective psyche of the Delaware Valley to, instead, trot out an inter-franchise All Star team. This isn’t the worst thing in the world. Hell, we partner with Philliedelphia, Sixerdelphia, & Flyerdelphia…and you should check those sites out (wink wink). But in this specific space, we discuss one team.
This Eagles franchise, right now, is at a crossroads. They are moving into the last year of Foles’ contract. McCoy is approaching 1,500 career rushing attempts and 1,800 total touches: both milestones for precipitous RB decline. Jason Peters—despite having signed a five-year, $51.3M contract extension just a year ago—is 33 years old and will likely be a cap casualty before his contract is set to expire in 2018. Celek is declining. Maclin is not a guaranteed Eagle moving forward. DeMeco Ryans is both aging & injured. The cornerbacks…there are no cornerbacks.
Let’s take a page out of the radio host playbook. But, let’s add direction. Who are the four players on the roster right now who the team needs to both perform & lead moving forward? Which are the jerseys that the fans can buy and know that they have a Ring of Honor caliber set of stitches? Who are the McNabbs, the Westbrooks, the Dawkins, and the Vincents? Who are the Whites, Browns, Quicks, & Allens? Who can be a Bergey, a Montgomery, a Carmichael, and a Jaworski? Who on this team can get to that level? Which four guys on the team, at present, must be the faces in the mountain we need them to be? Here’s one fan’s take:
Fletcher Cox
Was there an easier name on the roster? He would be a unanimous choice in this conversation if you polled fans, media, NFL experts, former athletes, anybody. He is 24 years old and a three-year veteran who just took “the leap” in his third season. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Cox graded out as the 13th best 3-4 defensive end in 2013. Last year, Cox graded out fifth: behind only J.J. Watt, Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, & Calais Campbell. It may not show in the stat line—four sacks & 61tackles last year—but he makes his teammates more effective the minute he steps between the stripes. If the Eagles can find a pair for Cox on their DL, if they can find an edge-rusher to take away the double teams, if they find him a Jerome Brown: he could be a Reggie White. Next year is the last of his rookie contract & he will get paid large dollars to continue to ball for somebody. If the Eagles let him walk the same way they did Reggie White in 1993, he is going to end up winning championships for another franchise.
Mychal Kendricks
Another product of “Howie Roseman’s” 2012 draft class, Kendricks was selected in the second round and has exceeded expectations even as a the 46th overall pick. He is another guy who made major strides in his third year: ranking sixth overall among 3-4 inside linebackers last year. Bobby Wagner—of the now historically good Seattle defense—rated just one tenth of a point higher than Kendricks did in 2014, according to PFF. In addition to Wagner, two of the other ILBs rated higher than Kendricks played in the Super Bowl last year. Kendricks was valued higher than Karlos Dansby, CJ Mosley, Patrick Willis, Jerod Mayo, DeMeco Ryans, and—well—all but five other NFL athletes. Last year—despite missing Weeks 3-6 with a calf strain—he totaled 108 tackles, four sacks, eight QB hits, 15 hurries, and three forced fumbles. If Cox could be White, Kendricks could be Joyner. This isn’t hyperbole. Kendricks has every bit the athleticism & every bit the instinct. Again, these athletes don’t exist in isolation or in a vacuum. Good players complement each other. Great players make those around them better. It isn’t a coincidence. Look at the 1985 Bears: Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, Leslie Frazier. Look at the 1991 Birds: White, Joyner, Allen. Look at the 2000 Ravens: Sam Adams, Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson. Look at Seattle: you know the names. All of them have stars, if not Hall of Famers, at each level of the defense. It is what the Eagles are building and it must be built around guys like Kendricks & Cox. Both of whom are up for big money after next year.
Jason Kelce
The Eagles already took care of this one for us. He is the first on this list for whom Roseman won’t need to open the vault: having banked $13M guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $37.5M contract extension signed a year ago. In 2013, he was the highest rated center in the game per PFF. In 2014, he was rated 8th. A regression, perhaps, but his overall rating would have been higher had he not missed five games with a sports hernia. He anchors an offensive line that will soon be dangerously old. Jason Peters, Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans are all at least 32 years old at least. Kelce is the anchor of an offensive line from which Kelly demands both athleticism and cohesion. His athleticism is routinely on display. You only have to watch him hustle 60 yards downfield on a Sproles scamper. First & foremost, this is a run-based offense. Kelce will have the responsibility going forward to stabilize a line in flux and, therefore, keep Chip’s ship on an even keel. The Eagles were smart to lock him up long term.
Lane Johnson
Surprised? It could have been Maclin. But he produced in 2014 a near identical season as his predecessor DeSean Jackson did in 2013. It can be argued, quite reasonably, that another WR could replace that production going forward. We are looking for the individuals who cannot be replaced on this roster. LeSean McCoy? He is about to reach the plateau phase before hitting the decline. He is still a great player now…but how long can he last and will it be long enough to bring a parade to Broad Street? Connor Barwin? He would have made a great choice: having had an incredibly productive 2014 with 14.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, & 2 forced fumbles. But he is 28 years old and heading into his 7th NFL season: probabilities are against him being a Pro Bowler in 3 years. Zach Erts, for all his passing game prowess, hasn’t rounded out his game well enough to run-block for Chip Kelly: losing snaps to an older Brent Celek. This is not to insinuate that it is Lane Johnson by default. He has, believe it or not, earned this spot. He was selected fourth overall in the 2013 NFL draft: behind Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel, & Dion Jordan. Fisher has been abysmal for Andy Reid in Kansas City: surrendering 14 total sacks & nearly 50 hurries in his first two seasons. Joeckel hasn’t been much better: missing the majority of his rookie campaign with an ankle injury & giving up 8 sacks last year. Jordan has barely played in Miami after losing six games in 2014 for violating the player drug policy. Which brings us back around to Lane Johnson: who missed the first quarter of last season after testing for a banned substance. Johnson vowed to “be ready and better than ever” when he returned: and he was. He graded out as the 13th best tackle in the NFL last year, per PFF: a significant improvement on his rookie year. The truth is that Johnson will always be judged against the guys drafted around him & the expectations are high with him being a fourth overall selection. The hope is that he meets & exceeds those expectations as the Eagles will need him to be a Jon Runyan type of monster at the position for years to come. He has no less responsibility to the offensive line going forward than Kelce. Together, they are the foundation upon which Kelly hopes to build his masterpiece offense. That responsibility—coupled with Johnson’s talent—lands him unexpectedly on this list.
There you have it. They may not be the sexiest names on the roster. But have you looked at Mt. rushmore recently? Not a looker among them. This is simply a blueprint, of sorts, for development. Open for debate. Nothing set in stone, yet…
