NFL Roster Core Rankings: Eagles at No. 1?
It is that time of year when fans and analysts are starting to make their predictions for the upcoming season, whether it be identifying those teams flying under the radar or those teams being over or underrated.
Where do the Philadelphia Eagles fit into those categories? Many have already labeled the Eagles as Super Bowl contenders again after just coming up short in February.
The predictions of a revenge season will certainly make Eagle fans happy. Yet, are these high expectations realistic? Did Philadelphia lose too much from a season ago, will losing both coordinators hurt them?
Those are all questions that the Eagles will have to answer this coming season. Yet, it seems any concerns of losing too many key contributors from last season are being put to rest by ESPN.
ESPN recently ranked all 32 NFL teams by their "roster core," which is essentially the five players that each franchise is looking to build around. The site had the Eagles coming in at No. 3 overall.
ESPN listed Philly's core players as quarterback Jalen Hurts, receiver A.J. Brown, offensive tackle Lane Johnson, edge rusher Haason Reddick, and cornerback Darius Slay.
"The Eagles' elite core checks every positional value box, with high-end players at quarterback, wide receiver, offensive tackle, edge rusher and corner," ESPN writes. "And in reality, this exercise undersells the strength of the Eagles as a whole, because there are very talented players left off the list, including cornerback James Bradberry, receiver DeVonta Smith and center Jason Kelce."
The only teams that ranked above the Eagles were the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 1, and Cincinnati Bengals behind them. While the Chiefs' case for being No. 1 comes from them winning a pair of rings with their franchise building blocks in Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones. The Eagles and Bengals could be interchangeable, depending on who you talk to.
Cincy and Philly have two of the younger exciting quarterbacks in the league with Burrow and Hurts. It seems ESPN gave the Bengals the edge because their top receivers are Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
So, it seems the best way for one core to prove they are better than the other is by winning a Super Bowl, something both teams have come close to doing over the last two seasons.
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