Ranking Philadelphia Eagles' Best Players So Far This Season
The Philadelphia Eagles are the NFL's best team through seven weeks of the season behind spectacular team football, but their success comes on the back of a number of impact players.
Philly improved to 6-1 after a convincing display on Monday Night Football, dismantling the Washington Redskins in a 34-24 victory in front of a happy home crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles made a statement on both sides of the ball following a four-touchdown performance by quarterback Carson Wentz and a stifling defense that took over the game.
It felt like a transcendent season for the Eagles entering 2017, with a number of veteran players being added to a team on the rise with a young quarterback and a defense that possesses game-changing talent at all three levels. But even the most optimistic Eagles fans may be pinching themselves as they hold the best record in football going into Week 8.
Understandably, it's tough to identify the Eagles' 10 best players at this stage in the season with so many players at the top of their game. Guys like LeGarrette Blount, Rasul Douglas and Jason Peters warranted consideration. But only the best of the best made the cut, so let's break them down.
10. K Jake Elliott
1 of 10
Place-kicking has become a sensitive subject for many teams over the last couple of seasons, and a Week 1 injury to Caleb Sturgis presented a huge issue for Philly on the first day of the season. Jake Elliott not only solved the issue, but he's become one of the most automatic kickers in the league.
The Eagles signed the rookie out of Memphis off the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad following Sturgis' injury, and he turned into a hero less than two weeks later with his game-winning field goal against the New York Giants of 61 yards that broke a franchise record. After missing one in each of his first two outings, Elliott has only missed one field goal since, a 45-yard attempt in Monday's game.
Elliott has tied a franchise season record already with four makes of 50 yards or more, alleviating pressure on the offense when the Eagles get inside the 35-yard line. He's 14-of-17 on the season and practically made the decision for the Eagles coaching staff in terms of weighing whether or not they would bring Sturgis back as the starter when he's healthy.
A team's kicker cracking a list of its top players may indicate a subpar roster, but not for the NFC East-leading Eagles. While so many teams have to weigh their kicker's dependability when in scoring position, there are suddenly no such issues in Philly after a few years of shaky kicking.
9. Nelson Agholor
2 of 10
Just a matter of months ago, Nelson Agholor's place on the Eagles appeared to be in serious jeopardy. Now, he's one of the biggest playmakers in the explosive Philadelphia offense.
The season began with all the attention centered on new acquisitions Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, but Agholor has outperformed both of them as a diamond in the rough. He's second on the team with 366 yards receiving, and his five touchdowns tie tight end Zach Ertz for the team's most.
The former first-round pick's big-play acumen is making up for the inconsistency they've gotten from Smith. He's averaging 15.3 yards per catch and has big touchdown receptions of 58 and 72 yards.
Jeffery is clearly a more talented receiver, but he's struggled due to a combination of still developing chemistry and consistent matchups with the opponent's No. 1 cornerback. His mere presence is opening things up for Agholor in the middle of the field, where he's become arguably the second-most reliable target for Wentz behind Ertz.
The Eagles will be at their best when the two veterans are outproducing Agholor, but his emergence in 2017 is a vindication of teams having patience in developing young wideouts.
8. S Malcolm Jenkins
3 of 10
Malcolm Jenkins' impact on the Eagles stretches far beyond simple statistics. The heart and soul of the defense, Jenkins is bringing it again in 2017.
The 29-year-old is coming off two spectacular seasons after leading the team in tackles with 109 in 2015 and notching 72 tackles with three interceptions a season ago. He's all over the defense again this year, racking up 39 tackles after a 10-tackle performance Monday.
Jenkins is listed as a safety, and while he more than fulfills his responsibility down the field, his ability as a box defender makes him one of the team's most effective players. He stuffs the run with regularity by crashing the box and frees up his linebackers by covering both tight ends and running backs all across the field.
The Eagles may have talent across all levels of the defense, but it's hard to imagine where they would be without the omnipresence of Jenkins.
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7. LB Jordan Hicks
4 of 10
Injuries have begun to derail the season of Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks, but the effect he has when he's on the field carries a ripple effect across the whole defense.
The team's star middle linebacker, Hicks sets the defense before the snap and executes the frequent blitzes called up by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz with precision. Despite injuries beginning to attack the Eagles' linebacking crew, a unit that appeared somewhat of a question mark before the season, it has been outstanding, and that's thanks in large part to Hicks' presence.
Speaking of injuries, that's the only thing keeping Hicks from having an All-Pro season. He left the win against the Giants in Week 4 early with an ankle injury, and he left Monday night's game against Washington after just two plays after he suffered a ruptured Achilles, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. He's still racked up 28 tackles, playing in practically five games.
Hicks' absence will be crushing for the Eagles defense. They struggled mightily to defend the middle of the field and stay organized in the two games he exited. The depth with Najee Goode and Joe Walker just isn't good enough to alleviate his loss.
6. CB Jalen Mills
5 of 10
The Eagles began 2017 with a huge weakness at cornerback, and a Week 1 injury to Ronald Darby amplified their concern on the perimeter. Patrick Robinson and rookie Rasul Douglas have been spectacular, but there's no question who's been the star.
Jalen Mills started his Eagles career having to fight for a roster spot as a seventh-round pick and got thrust into starting duties as a rookie with mixed results. To say some Eagles fans lacked confidence in his ability to be the No. 1 corner starting in Week 2 would be an understatement.
However, Mills has been a revelation in his second year. He's racked up 31 solo tackles and has snagged two interceptions while going up against elite competition week in and week out.
Oddly enough, the game that saw Mills struggle the most became one that validated his ability as a top-end corner. Against the Giants, Mills got targeted 21 times, the most any player has been targeted in the last 10 years, according to Pro Football Focus. He did give up two touchdowns but notched 12 tackles and held his own against arguably the game's best receiver in Odell Beckham Jr.
Mills' confidence has been soaring along with the Eagles' season ever since, and it will elevate the secondary that much more once Darby and Sidney Jones are healthy.
5. DE Brandon Graham
6 of 10
When Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham led the team with 5.5 sacks as virtually the only presence off the edge in 2016, the NFC East quivered at the thought of what he could become with help. Well, they're finding out this season.
With a deep core of ends featuring Chris Long, Vinny Curry and rookie Derek Barnett teeing off all around him, Graham has become an unblockable pass-rusher. He has amassed four sacks on the season, and after notching at least 5.5 sacks in four of the past five seasons, he's set to shatter his career high of 6.5 sacks in 2017.
The Eagles did a good job of bolstering their pass rush over the offseason, but the argument could be made that it would be an average-at-best unit without Graham. His veteran presence gives the less proven ends an example to replicate, and Eagles fans are seeing the benefits reaped in recent weeks with Barnett's emergence.
Pass rushing comes down to winning one-on-one matchups, and there's nobody better at doing just that on the Eagles—and perhaps the NFC East.
4. DT Fletcher Cox
7 of 10
Feasting on opposing offensive linemen has become Fletcher Cox's specialty. The ring leader of a nasty Eagles front four, Cox is proving to be worth every dollar of his gargantuan contract.
As is the case with most interior defensive linemen, Cox doesn't shred the stat sheet; he just shreds guards and centers. It's impossible to laud the impact of any linebacker or defensive end in this defense without giving credit to Cox, who consistently eats up two linemen to free up his teammates.
It's a testament to the Eagles defense that it remained stout up front when Cox missed two games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals due to injury. Upon his return in Carolina, he immediately regained form with a half sack and a pass defended, along with his typical duties of constantly pushing the pocket back.
As deep as the Eagles defensive line has become, it will only go as far as Cox can take them. Fortunately for Philly, that could be a long, long way.
3. LB Nigel Bradham
8 of 10
Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham has quietly been one of the team's best players over the year and a half that he's been in gang green. Through Week 7, he's getting the attention he deserves.
Most of the attention paid to Bradham by Eagles fans early in his Philadelphia career came for the wrong reasons due to off-field issues, but he quickly played his way into favor with a 102-tackle campaign in 2016. He led the team in tackles by nearly 20 and is picking up right where he left off this season.
Bradham has been all over the field on defense for Philly in 2017. At no point was that more evident than in Week 6 against Carolina, when he racked up 10 tackles and put his nose on virtually every Panthers ball-carrier. He also put his guts on display, exiting briefly with what appeared to be a serious injury before coming back in and taking over the game defensively.
He's just the type of player Schwartz said he likes on his defense, per Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Daily News:
"He plays tough, he plays mean. He plays with a lot of spirit. Players feed off of him. He feeds off of the guys. He's sort of stuck with it through some tough times. But we never really lost our belief in him. That game he played against Carolina was big-time."
With Hicks out, Bradham is likely to take over the middle linebacker duties, and that will make his impact that much more important.
2. TE Zach Ertz
9 of 10
Tight end Zach Ertz has been the Eagles' most reliable pass-catcher over the last two seasons, but he still had a ways to go toward becoming an elite player at his position.
It's safe to say that he's arrived.
In a league that has seen offenses become more and more centered on big, athletic tight ends, the case can be made that Ertz is the best of them all. The fifth-year pro is leading all tight ends in receiving yards (494), receptions (39) and touchdowns (five).
After a great start to his career amid an otherwise paltry receiving unit, the blueprint was there for Ertz to struggle in 2017 with defenses paying more attention to him. Instead, the Eagles revamped their wide receiver room as Ertz steps his game up to otherworldly levels.
The Eagles struggled mightily in the red zone a season ago, but Ertz has almost single-handedly shifted the tide with all five of his scores coming in the red zone. Of course, he's also proving to be a deadly target in the middle of the field as well.
There are a lot of star playmakers on the Eagles offense, but Ertz's spectacular start to the season has risen above all of them. There are no signs of him slowing down.
1. QB Carson Wentz
10 of 10
Was there ever any doubt as to who would top this list?
Carson Wentz has been a revelation thus far in 2017, and that's saying something considering the amount of attention paid to him after an impressive rookie campaign. The league hasn't seen this level of play from a second-year quarterback in many years, leaving fewer and fewer people each week questioning whether he belongs in the conversation of the best quarterbacks in football.
Following the win Monday night against Washington, Wentz has surpassed his touchdown total of 16 from a year ago, hurling 17 passing scores with just four picks. He's also become one of the best rushing quarterbacks in football, upping his total to nearly 200 yards after leading the team with 64 yards rushing Monday.
On the heels of that unstoppable performance, the case can be made that Wentz is a primary candidate for the league's MVP award. He leads the league in touchdown passes, is in the top five in pass yards and, perhaps most importantly, leads the team with the best record in football.
Wentz hasn't been perfect, but he's been pretty close. As long as he protects the ball and uses his skills to lead the Eagles to more wins, you may see a lot of No. 11 Eagles jerseys inside the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis come February.
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