It has never felt better to be an Eagles fan in the regular season than it does right now. At 8-0, the birds have feasted on opponent after opponent. It is not far fetched to say that Philadelphia is the best team in the NFL right now much to the surprise of every pre-season analysis. The birds were supposed to be good, not this great. Almost all the credit goes to Howie Roseman for bringing in a bunch of studs this offseason. While almost all have been spectacular, this article will discuss who has shined the brightest thus far. For sanity’s sake, I will only be including those who made the team, so sorry to any Jaquiski Tartt and Devon Allen truthers that may exist.
11. Nakobe Dean, LB (3rd round draft pick)
Once considered a 1st round pick and consensus top two linebacker in the draft, Nakobe Dean has struggled to find significant playing time on the Eagles. He is buried behind some studs on the depth chart and has only netted 3 tackles for the birds, all on special teams. The Georgia product hasn’t seen defensive snaps since week one and has been a relative disappointment.
Rating: At least he won the Butkus, right?
10. Kyron Johnson, LB (6th round pick)
Similar story to Dean, but the expectations were lower and he has played slightly better. The “tweener” has 7 tackles on the year, again mainly from special teams. But he has seen 8 snaps on defense as a rotational pass rusher in the Haason Reddick role (just as one certain Birds Blitz writer predicted).
Rating: Crazy how Kansas became good at football after he left.
9. Grant Calcaterra, TE (6th round pick)
I’ll admit it: I thought Grant Calcaterra was on bust watch when the Eagles refused to activate him for the first two games. So what does he do game 3? Hauls in a 40 yard completion from Jalen Hurts. Far from anything special, but there are far worse TE3s out there, and he is being used at least a little bit on offense and special teams. I’m sure his role will diminish as Tyree Jackson gets healthy
Rating: This guy unretired to play with Jalen Hurts again. Dawg.
8. Cam Jurgens, C (2nd round pick)
It’s hard to rank Jurgens because he so obviously is a pick for the future. When Kelce retires, he is the next man up. From what we have seen, the Eagles future at the center position is in good hands. Beef Jurgey was not supposed to be a contributor this year, but in the limited mop-up snaps and brief injury relief we have seen (plus his dominant preseason), there is reason to be bullish.
Rating: The coolest nickname in the game
7. Zach Pascal, WR (Signed in March)
Nick Sirianni’s enforcer has exceeded expectations from his WR4 role. The former Colt is being used as a bootleg weapon in the flat and a ferocious leading blocker. As long as he is not asked to run the ball on 4th and 1 in field goal range, there’s nothing Pascal can’t do. He just caught his first touchdown against Pittsburgh where he was schemed wide open. Good for him. 9 catches for over 100 yards and a touchdown on the year is really good, and very similar to those of Quez Watkins. Is a WR3 controversy brewing? Who’s to say. Regardless, the Eagles are deep and talented at wide receiver thanks in no small part to Pascal’s contributions.
Rating: Faster than AJ Brown
6. Jordan Davis, DT (1st round pick)
While he is hurt right now, Jordan Davis has lived up to the hype. The Eagles run defense without Davis has been far from pretty (your average Marvin Wilson cannot do what Davis does). Against Detroit week one, D’Andre Swift was able to go wild mainly because Davis was kept off the field for whatever reason. A similar story came this past Thursday when Damien Pierce and the Texans were able to jam the ball down our throats without the former Bulldog. He has been all that has been advertised in the run game, and the Eagles desperately need more beefy DTs like him to keep up the dominant defense. On top of that, he has 6 pressures on QBs this year. His blend of ferocious size and surprising speed will be a nightmare for opposing offenses when he returns. Let’s just hope this is not a nagging injury to someone of his stature.
Rating: Broke my scale
5. Kyzir White, LB (Signed in March)
As one of the aforementioned linebackers that is keeping Nakobe Dean off the field, Kyzir White has neatly plugged a hole in this defense. For years, Eagles fans had to deal with nightmares of Nate Gerry, Alex Singletary and Eric Wilson being “coverage LBs”. Now, the Eagles finally spent some real capital to get a true stud. The Pennsylvania native signed for cheap this offseason and has the second most tackles on the team. He may not be the biggest, but he for sure is a hungry dog, and we all know what they say about hungry dogs. The former Charger was built to be an Eagle, and hopefully Philly can retain him.
Rating: Way better than his brother Kevin.
4. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S (Traded from Saints in August)
Isn’t it amazing how the man who LEADS THE NFL IN INTERCEPTIONS is only the 4th best offseason acquisition? C.J. Gardner-Johnson has found his niche in the Jonathan Gannon defense and has thrived. 5 picks on the year through 8 games is no small task. The best Ceedee in the NFC East finds himself in the right place at the right time consistently and has a nose for the football. Plus, he has that ever so intangible DAWG in him. This man hurt his hand in the first half of the Dallas game, came back in in the second half and scooped his SECOND interception of the game off the grass. Talk about a Philly guy. At only 24 years old, the greatest trash talker is a piece the Eagles should look to keep and build around to keep this defense a contender for years to come.
Rating: NFC Defensive Player of all time.
3. Haason Reddick, Weapon (Signed in March)
Go ahead, look up a photo of Haason Reddick in an Eagles jersey. I guarantee you will see plenty of quarterbacks on the turf in anguish with number 7 in midnight green on top of them. That, or Mr. Reddick holding a newly strip-sacked football himself. With 5 and a half sacks, 3 forced fumbles and a NFC defensive player of the week award to boot, the Temple product is making his hometown proud. He and Josh Sweat have been menaces rushing the passer. But it gets better: This past Thursday in coverage he collected a clean pass deflection as well. Howie got an edge rusher who can literally do it all, and JG is utilizing him in unthinkable ways.
Rating: Better than your starting corner.
2. James Bradberry, CB (Signed in May)
After a down year with the Giants last year, Bradberry has has a career resurgence in Philly. He has played like a top 5 corner again this year. Bradberry, Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox make up the best corner trio in the game right now, and you could reasonably argue that Bradberry has been the best of the three. His 11 pass deflections lead the team. He has made big plays all year long, including the game-sealing picks versus Jacksonville and Houston, plus the pick six at Detroit. Bradberry was a bargain and is playing like an all-pro. Accolades incoming for the 29-year-old.
Rating: If Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman had a bald baby.
1. AJ Brown, WR (Traded from the Titans in April)
Who else but Arthur Juan Brown to top this list? The former Titan has been worth every penny. Brown in 6th in the league in receiving yards at 718 yards through 8 games. Jalen Hurts’ leap in 2022 has been in no small part to swole batman. Brown has the ability to take over a game, something the likes of which Philly hasn’t seen since T.O. He is a top three receiver in the league, enough said.
Rating: Super Bowl MVP.
Final Thoughts
While the Eagles are over the moon about their new weapons, this next offseason will be tricky. Many of the names listed above signed one year deals, meaning they are due for money. On top of that, previously rostered contributors like Miles Sanders are also impending free agents. This issue is compounded by the fact that Jalen Hurts has earned a payday. Howie Roseman will have some tough decisions to make this offseason, so the birds need to go all in on winning right now.
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Jish Sokolsky is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Jish, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
