June 18, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Saquon Barkley after his 78-yard touchdown run in the snow against the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.
We know Saquon Barkley is good – really, really good. But top-three-overall in the NFL good?
The Eagles' All-Pro landed at No. 3 on longtime NFL analyst Pete Prisco's list of top 100 NFL players, on CBS Sports' website. In total, 10 players on the Eagles' current roster cracked Prisco's top 100, four in the top 20.
As usual with these top-100 lists, some decisions will please fans, and some will leave them with their heads scratching, which is probably the objective Prisco and other analysts/networks aim for when producing these wholly subjective rankings.
For example, more interesting than Barkley coming in at No. 3 is that fact that he was completely unranked in Prisco's 2024 top 100. Writes Prisco:
Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory. He can do so many things for the Eagles offense, which is why he is a real MVP candidate heading into this season. (Last season: NR)
Here's a breakdown of where other Eagles are ranked, and whether those rankings make sense:
Right behind his teammate, Mailata checks in as the second-best OT overall. It's actually nice to see someone in the national media give respect to the incredible story that is Mailata, who had never played a down of NFL football when the Eagles drafted the Aussie in 2018. He's one of the best LTs in the game but, surprisingly, hasn't yet made a Pro Bowl.
Right now, Eagles fans are probably thinking, "This is the next-highest rated Eagle named Jalen?" More on that later. But's inarguable that Carter has emerged into a top-20 talent. You could, however, make an argument that Carter is even better than 17th overall, but Carter is actually Prisco's highest-rated DT, ahead of Chris Jones (18th) and Dexter Lawrence (29th). Maybe Prisco just doesn't think of DT as a premier position. Still, it represents a skyrocket for Carter, who checked in at 93rd after his rookie season.
This feels like a statistics-based ranking, as Brown only logged 1,079 receiving yards and and 7 TDs last year after dealing with an early season hamstring injury and as the offense morphed toward the run. Is Brown really not better than CeeDee Lamb (27th)? And is he that far behind Justin Jefferson (5th) and Ja'Marr Chase (8th)? No. Also, ranking Tyreek Hill (30th) ahead of Brown after Hill didn't even crack 1,000 yards last year seems odd. Brown fell four spots from 27th in last year's top 100.
At this point, I'm sure many Eagles fans are wondering when a certain Super Bowl MVP is going to appear on this list, but Baun was an All Pro in 2024 and made a strong argument for being the game's best at his position. He was another Eagle, like Mailata, who wound up high on this list despite being unranked last season. Baun is Prisco's second-highest-ranked ILB behind Fred Warner (19th).
Finally, the Super Bowl MVP makes an appearance. Oddly, Hurts jumped just one spot in the overall ranking, as he finished 53rd the prior year. Here are the QBs ahead of Hurts on Prisco's list: Patrick Mahomes (1st), Josh Allen (4th), Lamar Jackson (6th), Joe Burrow (7th), Jayden Daniels (33rd), Justin Herbert (49th). I mean, there's a lot going on there. Broncos C Quinn Meinerz is ranked one spot ahead of Hurts, and Falcons OG Chris Lindstrom is ranked 43rd overall. All we'll write is this: please don't shoot the messenger!
This feels like a decent spot after an amazing rookie season, although Prisco rates six CBs – Patrick Surtain Jr. (9th), Sauce Gardner Jr. (24), Trent McDuffie (46), Christian Gonzalez (62), Brian Branch (65) and Marlon Humphrey (68) – ahead of Mitchell, who sure played like a top-five corner in Year 1. Mitchell is a candidate to be another high-riser next year on this list if he turns in a great sophomore season.
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