Three Eagles Selected to 2019 Pro Bowl

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The NFL released the rosters for the 2019 Pro Bowl on Tuesday night. Among the many names were three Eagles – all of them voted in as starters.

The Eagles offense may be struggling, but two players made the NFC roster on offense for the Birds. The most obvious is Zach Ertz. Ertz ranks 13th in the league in receiving yards (third among tight ends) with 1,078 yards and third in the league in receptions with 101 – behind only fellow Pro Bowlers Michael Thomas and Adam Thielen. In the Rams game, Ertz became just the fourth tight end in history to register 100 receptions in a season.

The less discussed player to make the Pro Bowl roster on offense is Brandon Brooks. Brooks was voted in as the second guard for the NFC.

The offensive line struggled early in this season, but while Jason Peters and Lane Johnson struggled and Doug Pederson swapped out Wisniewski for Seumalo, Brandon Brooks held his own alongside Jason Kelce. While Brooks did struggle in the second Giants game, it was really the only blemish so far this season and it came in a game where he suffered an ankle injury. He has since returned to playing at a high level.

It is a common saying that lineman whose name you don’t hear are doing their jobs; without allowing pressures or quarterback hits, there is rarely a reason to point out names. Brooks has gotten little attention since overcoming his anxiety issues. He is elite. When thinking about great free agent signings, don’t forget about Brooks.

Perhaps the biggest Pro Bowl snub is center Jason Kelce, who had been the best interior offensive lineman through much of the season and was just ranked as the best lineman through the first 14 weeks by PFF.

Jason Kelce has been the NFL's highest graded center through the first 14 weeks of the season. pic.twitter.com/bSbrkRCe8n

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 14, 2018

The two players voted in ahead of him were Alex Mack and Max Unger. Mack was ranked as the fifth best center and Unger failed to make the top five.

The lone defensive player to make the Pro Bowl for the Eagles was Fletcher Cox. He was voted in as the second defensive tackle behind Aaron Donald. Cox is having another huge season with 41 tackles, seven-and-a-half sacks and a defensed pass.

Cox had set his sight on earning defensive player of the year, but with the season Donald is having and Cox getting double teamed with an utter lack of production from the second defensive tackle position nearly all season long, that seems unlikely to happen this season. Still, Cox was rated as the second best player in all of the NFL midway through the season by Pro Football Focus – behind only Aaron Donald.

The full roster for both the AFC and NFC teams can be found here.

Update: Jason Kelce, Malcolm Jenkins, Lane Johnson and, most surprisingly, Brandon Graham have been selected as alternates. It is odd that Graham got the nod over Bennett. Cameron Johnston remains out of the event.