Philadelphia Eagles roster outlook: Team DE power rankings and grades

Well, time sure flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? It seems like it was just yesterday when Philly traded up in the 2010 NFL Draft to land in the 13th spot, yet here we are a full ten years later.

At the time, we thought that trade occurred so the Eagles could draft Earl Thomas. After all, there was a void that they had been unable to fill a safety, one left by the departure of Brian Dawkins after the 2008 season. Philly’s plans were obvious, or were they?

Philly, as they often did during the Andy Reid era, went the route of taking someone who’d play in the trenches. This time it was a defensive lineman by the name of Brandon Graham. The Earl Thomas rumors had been proven to be false.

Remember the shock you all had when Philly took Jalen Hurts in the second round of the most recent draft? This was kind of the same thing. Thomas’ career took off instantly. Graham was more of a late bloomer, but since that day in April “55” has played every game of his ten-year career in an Eagles jersey.

That’s resulted in 150 games with 92 starts. 380 total tackles and 54.5 sacks (including the most famous strip-sack in Super Bowl history). It’s 2020, and the old man sits at the top of the depth chart heading into a season that might be his final run with the only NFL team he’s ever known.

In 2019, he played well enough to earn a Pro Bowl nod, as he has done for a while, and as usual, he was screwed. Might he finally earn his first in what might be his final season with the team? Grade: A-