USA Today
Eight Eagles Land on Pro Bowl Team, Nine Others Named Alternates
Eight Eagles were named to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday night.
Could they have had more?
Absolutely.
There are always snubs, even for a team that has the best record in the NFC by a wide margin at 13-1, even for a team that was the first to wrap up a playoff spot and is on the brink of winning the NFC East and clinching a first-round playoff bye and having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Eight is still plenty and is the most of any team this season with the Cowboys and chiefs each getting seven.
Two Eagles defensive players made it: pass rusher Haason Reddick and Cornerback Darius Slay.
The other six selections came on the offense, including three on the best offensive line in football: Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, and Lane Johnson. Quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Miles Sanders, and receiver A.J. Brown were the other three.
Three who didn’t make it who certainly deserved to be in are:
- Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave made it last year and has 10 sacks this year. He was named an alternate.
- Cornerback James Bradberry has consistently graded out all season as the game’s top corner. He was named an alternate.
- Receiver DeVonta Smith has 71 catches, 901 yards, and five touchdowns. He was named an alternate.
- Linebacker T.J. Edwards is one of the league’s top tacklers.
- Defensive end Josh Sweat has a career-high 9.5 sacks and made it last year. He was named an alternate.
- Others that could be considered snubs are tight end Dallas Goedert and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, both of whom were derailed by injury.
The Eagles also had five other alternates:
Long-snapper Rick Lovato
Guard Isaac Seumalo
DE Brandon Graham
DT Fletcher Cox
LT Jordan Mailata
Here’s more on each player who did get voted in:
JALEN HURTS
This is the first trip for the second-year starter. The MVP candidate has scored 35 total touchdowns, including a franchise record for QBs with 13.
He averages 8.2 yards per pass attempt, which is second-best in the NFC and in the league, and his 104.6 passer rating is second in the NFC and fourth in the league.
MILES SANDERS
Great timing for the running back to put it all together since it comes in a contract year. He ranks fifth in the league with 1,110 yards, which is just 60 behind his former Penn State teammate, Saquon Barkley, for the NFC lead.
He has 11 touchdowns after not scoring any last year and that puts him fifth in the league for the most TDs of any player.
A.J. BROWN
This is his second Pro Bowl nod in three years and is the first Eagles WR to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl since Terrell Owens in 2004.
He has a career-high 1,201 yards after posting a career-high 181 yards in last week’s win over the Bears, which was the third time this season he has reached a career-high.
He ranks fifth among all receivers and his 10 touchdowns are third-most in the NFL and leads the NFC.
LANDON DICKERSON
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the left guard and former second-round pick. He is the first Eagles offensive lineman to earn a Pro Bowl spot in his first two since Hall of Famer Bob Brown did it in his rookie season of 1965.
There were questions about Dickerson’s health when he came out of Alabama after tearing an ACL late in the season, but Dickerson has played 28 games and, at 24, s only beginning to scratch the surface of his talent.
LANE JOHNSON
The fabulous right tackle was snubbed last year, but he’s back this year. It’s his fourth Pro Bowl selection after a three-year run of doing it from 2017-19.
Asked earlier in the day what it would mean to earn a spot this year after not being picked last year, Johnson said: “I guess it would be good for my accolades. I feel like I put in a lot of good work last year and didn’t get it, so I don’t know. It’d be nice.”
He is only the third Eagles offensive lineman ever to earn four Pro Bowl honors. Jason Peters made seven Pro Bowls between 2009 and 2016 (and two others with the Bills), and the other is…
JASON KELCE
The center continues to pay at a high level despite turning 35 last month. This is his sixth Pro Bowl and a likely fifth Associated Press first-team All-Pro nod probably awaits in January.
He will make his 137th straight start in Dallas on Saturday.
That is Hall of Fame material.
HAASON REDDICK
The pass rusher received his first Pro Bowl bid, with a season that has seen him become the first player in NFL history to record three straight double-digit sacks for three different teams.
He has 12 to go along with four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three passes defended.
Earlier in the day, Reddick was asked about what it would mean to make his first Pro Bowl.
“It’d be good to make it this year,” he said. “It would mean recognition to finally be there, a small step in the process. It’d be good. We’ll see what happens and go from there.”
DARIUS SLAY
The first-year team captain has made his second straight Pro Bowl and fifth in his 10 NFL seasons.
Slay is a big piece to the NFL's top-ranked passing defense (172.4 yards per game) and the third-best when it comes to opponent passer rating (80.8). He also has three interceptions and 13 passes defended.
The Pro Bowl will look different this year.
There won’t be an actual game, but there will be a first-ever AFC vs. NFC Flag Football game on Feb. 5 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. There will also be a series of Pro Bowl skills competitions throughout the week.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
