Here's a confession. The nerd in me likes lists. I don't know why that's the case. It just do. Just the other day, I found myself spending ten minutes reading something in the area of '20 photos the World Wrestling Federation didn't want me to see'. Even when I'm not entertaining myself of working, I find myself ranking Philadelphia Eagles or their teams in one category or another. Often, I find myself reading one of my favorite platforms for that reason.
No one attacks rankings or comparisons with as much frequency as Pro Football Focus. Sometimes, we all agree with them. Sometimes, we share their content, but they're always worth a conversation.
Over the past week-plus, they've been releasing one of our favorite lists they share each offseason. Their Top 100 Players list is complete. 11 Birds are on it.
Must-read: A.J. Brown strongly endorses new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo
Congratulations to the near-dozen Eagles who landed on PFF's Top 101 Players (even if we're confused about your ranking).
Here's one worth reading if you have some extra time on your hands. Mason Cameron, Dalton Wasserman, and Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus collaboratively named the NFL's 101 top stars. As expected, they used the famed PFF statistical engine as a huge determining factor in how they stacked players at their respective positions.
11 Eagles made the list. How about a round of applause for each one and a look at who made the cut? Here's a look at the players mentioned and where they fell in the ranking.
91. QB Jalen Hurts
90. DT Milton Williams
78. CB Quinyon Mitchell
77. DT Jalen Carter
64. G Landon Dickerson
45. CB Cooper DeJean
30. WR A.J. Brown
18. OT Lane Johnson
11. LB Zack Baun
10. RB Saquon Barkley
3. OT Jordan Mailata
Now, we get it. PFF won't always make sense. Sometimes, they seemingly hit the nail on the head. In other instances, we can't figure out what they're looking at by the numbers.
In cases like the latter, we must study more closely and trust our reasoning and the eyeball test. We can't find any reason to rank Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert ranked 28 and 58 spots higher than Jalen Hurts respectively.
Sure, based on their rankings, it all adds up, but are these guys better than Jalen? Come on... Think about that.
The top ten seems like a good one. Here are the names on that list, but again, regardless of the numbers, there is room for debate. We understand these rankings are based on mixtures of certain metrics, but we can argue against Derrick Henry being five spots ahead of Saquon Barkley, can't we?:
10. RB Saquon Barkley, Eagles
9. EDGE T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
8. DT Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
7. C Creed Humphrey, Chiefs
6. QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
5. RB Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
4. QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
3. OT Jordan Mailata, Eagles
2. EDGE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
1. QB Lamar Jackson, Ravens
So, here's where I sit. Though I know this list isn't subjective, I still feel like it is, but in the end, it did what it was supposed to do. It created a conversation and another area for some discussion. Let's be honest. Isn't that one of our favorite activities once we move into the offseason?