February 26, 2023
The Eagles fell short of a Super Bowl win, but they put forth the most dominant regular season in team history. They were tired for the NFL's best record at 14-3 in 2022 with the league's most well-rounded roster.
Thought that loss still stings for Birds fans, the recognition for the Eagles' great campaign continues. Pro Football Focus has steadily unveiled "The PFF 101" this offseason, ranking the top 101 players from the 2022 season.
Here's PFF's criteria:
This list is based solely on play in 2022. Past or future play is not accounted for. This isn't about class or talent; it's about performance throughout the 2022 NFL season.
This list is created with an “all positions are created equal” mantra. So, you won't see 32 quarterbacks heading the list, even though that is the game's most valuable position. Instead, we take a look at how guys played relative to what is expected from their position.
Unlike PFF's awards, the 101 factors in the postseason, so some players who won PFF awards may find themselves jumped in the 101 by rivals who had a playoff run worthy of a change in ranking. [PFF]
A whopping 13 Eagles made the list. That towers over every other team. The Super Bowl-winning Chiefs had just seven players in comparison. The 49ers team the Eagles took down in the NFC Championship Game had six.
Here are the Eagles who were on the list with their specific ranking:
9. Lane Johnson
17. Jason Kelce
20. A.J. Brown
24. Jalen Hurts
36. Brandon Graham
38. Haason Reddick
47. Jordan Mailata
72. Javon Hargrave
79. T.J. Edwards
80. Dallas Goedert
82. Josh Sweat
84. Darius Slay
89. James Bradberry
Some thoughts:
• Johnson is the top ranked offensive line. That is apt.
• I understand that positional value is cast aside here, but Hurts has to be top 20 at minimum. If PFF is boosting players because of playoff performance, Hurts' Herculean effort in the Super Bowl should have him higher.
• Kelce is the highest ranking center. That's the correct evaluation. Kansas City's Creed Humphrey is four spots down at 21.
• Brown is the fourth ranked receiver behind Tyreek Hill (No. 7), Justin Jefferson (No. 8) and Davante Adams (No. 19). That's reasonable to me. Brown is a top five guy to me along with Ja'Marr Chase, but not quite a top three guy. Brown did, however, ball out in the Super Bowl with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
• Graham is in the pantheon of Eagles legends, but Reddick certainly had a better year than him, especially with gigantic games in the NFC playoffs.
• That Edwards ranking jumps out to me as being high. He was sixth overall among off-ball linebackers.
• Bradberry was better than Slay in 2022 with a more consistent overall season.
• Five of those Eagles (Kelce, Graham, Hargrave, Edwards, Bradberry) are free agents this offseason.
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