December 22, 2020
On Monday night, the NFL announced this season's Pro Bowl rosters, and surprisingly, three players from the 4-9-1 Philadelphia Eagles were selected. There are C Jason Kelce, DE Brandon Graham, and DT Fletcher Cox.
Of course, the Pro Bowl won't actually be played this year because of COVID, but the NFL honored deserving players nevertheless. Full rosters here.
This is Kelce's fourth Pro Bowl selection. He previously made the Pro Bowl in 2019, 2016, and 2014. He has also earned three consecutive first-team All Pro nods, from 2017-2019.
With each new decoration on his mantle, Kelce's candidacy for the Hall of Fame is strengthened. He's a Super Bowl champion, a fun personality, he gave an iconic speech, and he is arguably the most athletic center ever, which makes him less boring than your typical interior offensive lineman candidate. Throw another All-Pro nod on the pile, and he's got a real argument. The question will be, does he have the longevity if he retires after this season?
This is Graham's first Pro Bowl nod, which makes sense when you look at his career numbers, though the numbers often do not factor in that he has become an elite run defender.
Graham got out to a fast start this season, collecting seven sacks and 11 QB hits in the Eagles' first eight games, and it felt like he would top double-digit sacks for the first time in his career. He has since cooled off. In the last six games, he has no sacks and three QB hits. Surely, Graham will be a player fans of other teams will gripe about making the team, due to a relative lack of sacks.
If I can take off my journalist hat for a moment here, making the Pro Bowl will mean a lot to Graham, a hard worker and a gregarious personality, and I'm happy for him. Here he is finding out he made it with his family.
Here’s Brandon Graham’s family celebrating his first career Pro Bowl berth. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/sO3QJhFfW7
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) December 22, 2020
This is Cox's sixth straight Pro Bowl selection (2015-2020). He also has one first-team All Pro selection (2018), and three second-team All Pro nods (2014, 2015, and 2017).
On the season, Cox has 40 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and nine QB hits. Compare that with his 2018 season, when he had 46 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 34(!) QB hits, and he's not the same level of elite player that he was then, but he's still worthy of a Pro Bowl selection.
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