August 03, 2024
The NFL's Top 100 list annoys me every year so I'm a little hesitant to give it credence. I mean, Patrick Mahomes is No. 4, and Tyreek Hill is No. 1.
But I'd like to enjoy my day "off" and I have to write something, so what the hell, here are the five Philadelphia Eagles players who are on the list.
Smith finished the year with 1,000+ receiving yards for the second consecutive season and tacked on seven touchdowns to move up the rankings and earn himself a three-year extension. But despite a star quarterback in Jalen Hurts and the dual threat of Smith and A.J. Brown, the Eagles collapsed after starting the year 10-1 and flamed out in the Wild Card Round. In 2024, Smith and Co. will look to get back to the high-scoring attack that resulted in a trip to Super Bowl LVII.
#JimmySays: Smith is up to 90 from 100 last year. That feels about right.
As one of just six players in NFL history to average 70-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receiving yards per game over his career, Barkley has proven himself to be one of the best offensive talents in the league. Barkley finished the 2023 season with 962 rushing yards and 10 scrimmage TDs; however, he has missed 21 games from 2020-23, including three contests last season which is concerning despite his productivity.
#JimmySays: I didn't know that stat, and tried to look up the five other players in his company. It was actually six:
I was surprised Christian McCaffrey wasn't on that list.
Barkley doesn't deserve to be in the top 100 if it's just based on the 2023 season. He got in on reputation. Of course, it's fair to note that his underwhelming 2023 production had a lot to do with the atrocious offense he had to play in.
Johnson has been a model of consistency over his 11 seasons, as shown by the tackle’s identical Top 100 ranking to last year’s, emphasizing his steady nature on the Eagles’ powerful offensive line. After earning a pay bump and extension heading into the year, Johnson proved he remains one of the premier tackles in the game, allowing just three sacks while recording a 80.9 player grade, per PFF, on his way to a fifth Pro Bowl.
#JimmySays: Johnson has gotten more love on these lists in recent years than he has in the past, when he would often be left off of them entirely. Still, he remains criminally underrated, even after a down year (for him). It's always amusing to me looking at the edge rushers listed above him who he consistently erases without any help.
Brown has continued to make the Eagles look like geniuses for trading for and paying a premier wide receiver. Through two seasons as Philly’s No. 1 receiving threat, Brown has 194 receptions for 2,952 yards and 18 touchdowns. Even with such stellar output, he’ll be on the redemption tour in 2024 after suffering a knee injury in Week 18 and having to watch the then-defending NFC champions crash out of the playoffs on Super Wild Card Weekend.
#JimmySays: Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb were all listed ahead of Brown, which is fair, in my opinion.
Hurts falls 12 spots in the Top 100 following a season plagued by turnovers, but the Eagles quarterback maintained his reputation as an end zone maven. The 15 rushing touchdowns Hurts scored was a single-season record for QBs, a mark he shares with Josh Allen (2023), and he became the first QB in NFL history with 10-plus rushing TDs in three consecutive seasons, according to NFL Research. Lost within all the “tush push” hoopla, however, is an underrated part of Hurts’ dynamic game: deep passing. Since 2022, Hurts has a 112.8 passer rating on downfield passes (10-plus air yards) and his 18 deep passing TDs (20-plus air yards) are third-most in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats. Finishing 2023 throwing for 3,858 yards, Hurts became the second QB in NFL history with 3,000-plus passing yards and 600-plus rushing yards in three consecutive seasons.
#JimmySays: There were only three quarterbacks — Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes — who were higher on the list that Hurts.
It's probably worth noting that these polls are passed around during the regular season, so Hurts was no doubt getting votes closer to a time during the season when he was considered an MVP candidate. If this polling were done after the season played out in its entirety and voters had the benefit of seeing the Eagles' epic collapse, Hurts would surely be much lower.
• There aren't 100 players in the NFL who are better than Jordan Mailata.
• I could make a case for Jake Elliott.
• We'll see if Jalen Carter can find his way onto the list next year.
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