A couple of weeks ago, ESPN published a 53-man NFL "All Quarter Century Team," which got me thinking what an Eagles-only version would look like. So, you know, I'm stealing that idea.
Note: I judged the below players on their level of play specifically with the Eagles. In other words, Julio Jones is a surefire Hall of Famer, but he's not making the cut. Similarly, Nick Foles' NFL career with other teams wasn't exactly stellar, but he had moments of brilliance in Philly. Anyway, let's get on with it.
QB (3): Jalen Hurts, Donovan McNabb, Nick Foles
McNabb was more talented than Hurts, but I'm a sucker for quarterbacks who play well in the biggest moments, so Hurts is my starter.
There was also a choice to be made between Foles and Carson Wentz at QB3. I chose Foles, since I know that the entire locker room will like him, and he'll support Hurts and McNabb instead of wishing that he were the starter instead.
RB (4): Saquon Barkley, LeSean McCoy, Brian Westbrook, Darren Sproles
Barkley has only played one season for the Eagles, but I don't care. He's too good not to be the starter. Shady is my RB2, and Westbrook is my extremely dangerous passing down back. Sproles (first few years version, not the last few) also gets in as my primary return specialist
WR (6): A.J. Brown, Terrell Owens, DeSean Jackson, DeVonta Smith, Alshon Jeffery, Jeremy Maclin
I love the thought of opposing defenses having to park their safeties 25 yards off the line of scrimmage to account for Jackson, and then Brown and Owens absolutely murdering in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. Smith, Jeffery, and Maclin are great depth pieces who all bring different skill sets to the table.
TE (3): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Brent Celek
This felts pretty chalky. Ertz is the best receiving TE in Eagles history, Goedert is a complete TE with no obvious flaws (other than durability), and Celek became a very good blocker as his career progressed.
OL (10): Jason Peters, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Cam Jurgens, Tra Thomas, Shawn Andrews, Todd Herremans
Peters was a pretty egregious snub from the league-wide ESPN 53. Obviously, he's the starting LT here. Really, the starting five seemed rather obvious.
Mailata is my swing tackle, and Jurgens my backup center (and possible emergency fill-in at guard). They're active on gameday. I also have Andrews in. He was arguably the best player in the NFL at his position for like two seasons before his career went sideways.
Thomas was a LT only, but he's too good to leave off of this roster, while Herremans had some OT/OG versatility.
EDGE (5): Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Haason Reddick, Hugh Douglas, Connor Barwin
Neither Cole nor Graham put up monster sack numbers, but they were great run defenders and tough players. The strength of my D-line will be on the interior, and I just need those guys to win their share of one-on-ones. Reddick will sub in on obvious passing downs, Douglas is my EDGE4, and Barwin makes the cut because of his versatility and ability to drop into coverage.
iDL (5): Fletcher Cox, Jalen Carter, Corey Simon, Mike Patterson, Javon Hargrave
Cox and Carter are beasts. They were obvious. Simon is a quasi-starter as my nose tackle. He was a really good player for the Eagles, even if he didn't have longevity. Mike Patterson will be a situational run stopper for me, and Hargrave a situational pass rusher.
LB (4): Jeremiah Trotter, Sr., Zack Baun, DeMeco Ryans, Carlos Emmons
I'm slightly worried about Trotter's game in today's NFL, but he deserves a starting spot for what he did during his time with the team. Baun gets the other starting spot, since he had the best Eagles linebacker season this century.
Ryans' leadership and locker room presence gets him on the roster, as does Emmons' ability in coverage as a possible sub-package player.
CB (6): Asante Samuel, Quinyon Mitchell,Cooper DeJean,Darius Slay, Sheldon Brown, Troy Vincent
Alright, so I know some of the traditionalists are going to object to Mitchell and DeJean being in my starting lineup, but if I'm fielding this team they are getting every chance to start for me over prime Slay, Brown, or Vincent.
(Also, I don't want to have two tackle-allergic corners on the field at once, so I can't really have Slay opposite Samuel.)
S (4): Brian Dawkins, Malcolm Jenkins, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Rodney McLeod
ESPN had Troy Polamalu listed ahead of Dawkins, which I assume means he's a starter over Dawkins opposite Ed Reed? Certainly, Reed is worthy of being listed over Dawkins, but there's no good argument for Polamalu, other than that he played on a team that won a Super Bowl:
Player (yrs) Tackles Sacks FF-FR INT
Brian Dawkins (16) 1131 26 37-16 37
Troy Polamalu (12) 771 12 14-7 32
Polamalu was in shampoo commercials, but Dawkins was a better football player.
Jenkins was a pretty easy choice opposite BDawk, CJGJ makes the team because of his slot corner versatility, and McLeod was a good enough player to edge out Reed Blankenship for the fourth safety spot.
STs (3): Jake Elliott, Donnie Jones, Jon Dorenbos
Elliott is pretty safely the best kicker in Eagles history, Jones is the best player in NFL history, and Dorenbos does magic.
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