In an ideal world, we would be spending this month of June going over six weeks of OTA and minicamp quarterback stats, debating spots on the depth chart and wondering who might be on the roster bubble.
As we all know, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has put the NFL on hold, and as a result we won't be getting a chance to do any of that until late July — at the earliest.
So with that in mind, it is time to update my annual list of the top 10 players on the Eagles.
There are four new players in this year's top 10, a sign of just how much turnover this team has had in the last year as they have focused on getting younger and quicker.
As always, a reminder that talent, age and position are all taken into consideration.
Without further adieu, here are my Top 10 players on the Eagles for the 2020 season:
10. Rodney McLeod
2019 Ranking: Not Ranked
2018 Ranking: Not Ranked
2017 Ranking: Not Ranked
Analysis: Now that Jenkins is gone it will be up to McLeod to step up and be an impact player in the secondary. The good news is he might be up to the task as he played all 16 games last season after missing 13 games in 2018 with a torn ACL. McLeod is a very solid, very good player.
9. Darius Slay
2019 Ranking: N/A (With Detroit Lions)
Analysis: Slay might belong higher on this list, but gets knocked down a few spots since he is new to the team. Slay will be given the chance to cover the other team's best receiver each week next season. If he can do it at the level he has in the past, there is a very good chance he is in the top five on this list in 2021.
8. Brandon Brooks
2019 Ranking: 8th
2018 Ranking: 7th
2017 Ranking: 8th
Analysis: There is no getting around how devastating the season-ending Achilles injury Brooks suffered is. The All-Pro guard has now suffered three season ending injuries the last three years, and moving forward, the Eagles have to wonder if they can count on him to stay healthy. Just like his injury history is hard to ignore, however, there is also no getting around the fact that when Brooks is healthy he is one of the best players on the team — and maybe the best in the league at his position.
7. Brandon Graham
2019 Ranking: Not Ranked
2018 Ranking: 9th
2017 Ranking: 5th
2016 Ranking: 9th
Analysis: 2019 was a bounce-back year for Graham, who coming off of just four sacks in 2018, finished with 50 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss. He was easily the Eagles' best defensive linemen last year, and arguably their best overall defensive player, competing with Malcolm Jenkins for that title. Graham might not get the big sack numbers, but each week he is a consistent problem for opposing offensive lines, both as a pass rusher and against the run.
6. Lane Johnson
2019 Ranking: 4th
2018 Ranking: 2nd
2017 Ranking: 2nd
2016 Ranking: 3rd
Analysis: Johnson remains an elite-level offensive tackle and arguably the best right tackle in the entire league. On a team with so many question marks along the offensive line, Johnson is one of the only sure things they have.
5. Miles Sanders
2019 Ranking: Not ranked
Analysis: Some will say this is too high, but what was all saw last year from Sanders was crystal clear — he is an elite running back and a difference maker with the ball in his hands. Sanders played a big part in the Eagles' four-game winning streak to clinch the division, carrying the offense at times and making big plays in the passing game. Sanders is going to lead the team in touches next season, and when this list comes out next year, it wouldn't be surprising at all if he made it into the top three.
4. Fletcher Cox
2019 Ranking: 3rd
2018 Ranking: 4th
2017 Ranking: 3rd
2016 Ranking: 2nd
Analysis: Cox having a down year in 2019 was easy to predict, as he spent the entire offseason rehabbing from a foot injury, and missed the majority of training camp. It is hard for any defensive linemen to overcome something like that, even the elite ones like Cox. Still, by the end of the year, Cox was back to his dominant self, including a strong showing in their playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Next year is a big one for Cox, who coming off of a healthy offseason, will get a chance to show he is still one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.
3. Carson Wentz
2019 Ranking: 6th
2018 Ranking: 1st
2017 Ranking: 1st
2016 Ranking: 1st
Analysis: To everyone that says I hate Carson Wentz — look at those rankings from 2016 to 2018. It was really only after 2018, when he ended the season with another serious injury, when I started to view Wentz differently. After 2019, however, the arrow is pointing up. Wentz stepping up and carrying his team to the playoffs was a true franchise-quarterback move, and his Week 16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys might have been the biggest win of his career. Wentz still has some areas of his game to work on — starting with accuracy — but after a rough two-year stretch, the team's franchise quarterback appears to be back on track.
2. Jason Kelce
2019 Ranking: 5th
2018 Ranking: 6th
2017 Ranking: 7th
2016 Ranking: Not Ranked
Analysis: Kelce has a strong argument to be in the top spot. It wasn't that long ago that Kelce's days in an Eagles' uniform seemed numbered, and the rankings reflect that — from not even being ranked in 2016, to being outside the top five from 2016 to 2018. Last season, however, cemented Kelce's legacy as one of the best offensive linemen in Eagles' history as he was named to his third-straight All-Pro first-team. Kelce is the glue that holds the Eagles' offensive line together, and near the top of the list of players they can least afford to lose to injury.
1. Zach Ertz
2019 Ranking: 3rd
2018 Ranking: 5th
2017 Ranking: 6th
2016 Ranking: 6th
Analysis: After years of hanging around the top, Ertz finally gets the No. 1 spot on this list.
Why?
Simply put, no player on the Eagles' roster has been consistently elite like Ertz has. Even Cox, who is an elite, Hall-of-Fame level talent, has had a down season. Ertz, meanwhile, has had at least 70 catches and 800-plus yards each of the last five seasons, missing just five games in the process. Last season showed how valuable Ertz is as he was the No. 1 receiver and No. 1 option on offense, proving to be really the only skill player they could count on each week.
Add in the fact that Ertz is in his prime and arguably the best in the league at his position, and it is time for Ertz to hold the crown as the best player on the Eagles.
You can listen to me discuss the article and debate it with Ike Reese below:
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
