Eagles have 7 players named to PFF’s top 101 from 2019

The Philadelphia Eagles 2019 season was difficult from an injury standpoint, but individually the Birds have some star-power.

Pro Football Focus recently put out their annual list of the “top 101 players” from the 2019 NFL season and seven Eagles made the cut, up from the four players that made the list in 2018.

In a shocker to some Eagles fans, a talented tight end made the cut, but it didn’t include tight end, Zach Ertz.

Ertz didn’t make the list despite making his third Pro Bowl in 2019. Eagles star quarterback Carson Wentz was among the best signal-callers in football but was also excluded from the list.

Here are your seven Eagles to make the cut:

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5. BRANDON BROOKS
2018: Unranked

Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles at the tail end of the 2018 season — in January 2019, to be exact — so playing to even a respectable level this year would have been an achievement. Instead, Brooks went ahead and had the best season of his career and was the best offensive lineman in football fresh off the back of an injury that almost invariably affects performance in the first year a player returns from it. Brooks surrendered just one sack and 19 total pressures all season, and he earned the best run-blocking grade in the NFL among guards. He won PFF’s Bruce Matthews Award as the league’s best lineman and continued to get even better, despite being one the most underrated players in the league.–PFF

Brooks was the highest-graded linemen in the league this season (92.9) and was rewarded with a massive new deal.

34. LANE JOHNSON
2018: Unranked

At his best, and when healthy, Lane Johnson is one of a few right tackles who can make a case to be seen as the best in the league. When he went out of the lineup, there was a noticeable drop in play despite his backup, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, actually performing reasonably well. Johnson had the best run-blocking grade (92.6) of any tackle in football this season, and he allowed only one sack across 454 pass-blocking snaps. Injury limited him to just 12 games, however, and that’s what keeps him from being among the very best players on this list because, in pure grading terms, this was the best season of his career.

Johnson, like Brooks, is among the best at his position in regards to the grading system and the status of being the highest-paid at his position.

44. FLETCHER COX
Last year: No. 5

Much like Aaron Donald, Fletcher Cox wasn’t quite able to live up to his performance from a season ago. However, even after taking a step backward this year, he was still one of the most dominant interior forces in the league. He finished the year with 56 total pressures, adding four more in the team’s wild-card defeat in the postseason. Cox also tallied 23 defensive stops and an overall PFF grade of 89.5, having posted the best game of his season when it mattered most — the playoffs — albeit in a losing effort.

One of the top defensive tackles in the NFL, Cox slipped a bit after playing his way into shape following foot surgery during the 2019 offseason.

53. JASON KELCE
Last year: No. 64

Jason Kelce played every snap of the Eagles’ season — all 1,163 of them — the most of any center in the NFL this season, before adding 64 more in the wild-card loss. Kelce’s run blocking is one of the most important elements in the Eagles’ ground game, and his ability to make tough blocks on the move separates him from other centers. He ended the year as the top-graded player at his position once again, even if his pass blocking slipped a little this year to a PFF grade of 67.6.

Kelce made his third straight Pro Bowl and cemented himself as the top center in the NFL.

60. BRANDON GRAHAM
2018: No. 50

Brandon Graham will forever be one of the league’s most underrated players because he is the poster child for pass-rush production in the form of pressure over sacks. Graham again finished with fewer than 10 sacks, but he had 67 total pressures over the course of the year. Graham ended the season with an overall PFF grade of 84.2 and makes the PFF Top 101 list for the sixth time in his career. He also registered 38 defensive stops and was once again solid against the run in most games.

An Eagles leader and one of the game’s premiere pressure guys, Graham’s value to the Eagles can’t be simply measured in stats or sacks. He’s among the best in the NFL against the run and off the edge.

72. JASON PETERS
2018: Unranked

As impressive as it is for quarterbacks to be playing late into their 30s and into their 40s, imagine the same thing happening at tackle, where 250-pound plus players are coming at you every snap. Somehow, Jason Peters is still playing at a very high level late into his 30s. Peters surrendered just 25 total pressures over the season and had good grades as both a run blocker and pass protector. As has been a trend with him lately, he did miss some time through injury, but he still racked up 936 total snaps over the entire season (including playoffs).

The Eagles legend and future Hall of Famer, Peters regressed a bit in 2019 and that was expected from the veteran. Even with the fall-off in play, Peters still finished among the top-10 highest-graded linemen in the NFL.

75. DALLAS GOEDERT
2018: Unranked

At times this season, Dallas Goedert was the last man standing in the Philadelphia Eagles receiving corps, as everybody else was struck down with injury at one time or another. Goedert wasn’t as productive as some other tight ends on this list, but he earned impressive PFF grades in every facet of play we grade, topping at least 70.0 in every category. As a run blocker, he was a significant boost to a powerful offensive line, and he also made several impressive highlight-reel catches over the season.

Goedert makes the list over Ertz because of his run-blocking prowess and will be expected to take the next step in his development.