December 01, 2023
Through the first three months of the season the Philadelphia have won 10 games, and only lost 1. They are a good team, and many of their players have also been, you know, good. #Analysis. Let's take a look at which players have been good enough to warrant Pro Bowl consideration, for those of you who care about that.
To note, in 2022 eight Eagles players made the Pro Bowl: QB Jalen Hurts, RB Miles Sanders, WR A.J. Brown, C Jason Kelce, OG Landon Dickerson, OT Lane Johnson, EDGE Haason Reddick, and CB Darius Slay. They also had eight players who were named as alternates: WR DeVonta Smith, LT Jordan Mailata, OG Isaac Seumalo, EDGE Josh Sweat, DT Javon Hargrave, DT Fletcher Cox, EDGE Brandon Graham, and CB James Bradberry.
• QB Jalen Hurts: In the NFC the QB hierarchy is Hurts and Dak Prescott in whatever order you prefer, Brock Purdy, and Jared Goff a distant fourth.
• C Jason Kelce: It's the "Year of the Kelces," with Travis becoming a household name among those who follow American pop culture, and Jason becoming the most famous center ever. He'll get into the Pro Bowl for however long he plays as long as he doesn't get hurt.
• RT Lane Johnson: Johnson is beginning to get some long overdue recognition as one of the best football players in the world. He was First-Team All-Pro in 2022 in addition to being named to the Pro Bowl, and is still playing at an elite level.
• WR A.J. Brown: After a couple of down weeks (for him), Brown is now second in the NFC in receiving yards, behind the Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb. They are the two best receivers in the NFC.
• DT Jalen Carter: Carter has been an impact player for the Eagles as a rookie, but a bunch of well-know DTs like Javon Hargrave, Aaron Donald, Jonathan Allen, Vita Vea, and Dexter Lawrence all have either as many or more sacks. Carter deserves to get in, of course, but it doesn't always work that way.
• EDGE Haason Reddick: Reddick is fourth in the NFC in sacks per game. While there are a number of players who have better stats than Reddick so far this season, he should soon be entering "Pro Bowl mainstay" territory, as he has the third-most sacks in the NFL since 2020:
It's worth noting that 2022 was Reddick's first Pro Bowl season, so he's been snubbed in the past.
• EDGE Josh Sweat: Sweat made the Pro Bowl in 2021 when he maybe shouldn't have, and he didn't make it in 2022 when he should have. Through 11 games, he has 6.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, though he has made more of an impact than those numbers would suggest.
• LT Jordan Mailata: Mailata is having his best season and is deserving of Pro Bowl recognition, but he also has stiff competition from Trent Williams, Penei Sewell, Christian Darrisaw, Tristan Wirfs, and Tyron Smith.
• LG Landon Dickerson: Dickerson has very quickly become a very good starting guard, but he was still somewhat of a surprise inclusion to the Pro Bowl last year. Maybe he just makes it every year now because the Eagles get so much exposure?
• RB D'Andre Swift: I was surprised to see that Swift is actually second in the NFC in rushing yards, behind only Christian McCaffrey.
• K Jake Elliott: Elliott has only missed two field goal attempts and one PAT this season. The Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey is 26 of 26 on field goals, and 33 of 36 on PATs. Elliott has made three monster kicks this season:
Elliott should get in because at least two of those very difficult kicks were the difference between wins and losses, but I wonder how much people even look at that level of context when it comes to kickers.
• PR Britain Covey: Covey is first in the NFC in yards per return, with 14.8.
• WR DeVonta Smith: A strong close to the season would help, and certainly Smith is heating up over the last month or so, but he's still pretty far behind a bunch of other receivers in the NFC.
• CB Darius Slay: Slay has been good-not-great this season, but there's always name recognition.
• TE Dallas Goedert: Goedert would have been a Pro Bowl player last year, but he was not on ballots because he went on IR. After missing a few games due to a broken wrist, he'll have some catching up to do, but could still get in.
• S Reed Blankenship: In 9 games, Blankenship has 74 tackles, 2 INTs, and he leads all safeties with 10 pass breakups.
• LS Rick Lovato: Lovato has thrown the ball through his legs with speed and precision this season, I suppose.
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