Philadelphia Eagles: Top 3 reasons Fletcher Cox can win Defensive MVP

Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles will win Defensive Player of the Year.

Statistically, the 2019 NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles was a poor one for Fletcher Cox, but stats just don’t tell the whole story with Cox. He has been a cornerstone of the Eagles organization ever since he entered the league in 2012.

His combination of size and speed is one that very few humans (let alone football players) have. He can power through opponents or go around them. He’s the textbook definition of the word ‘elite’.

Last year, however, everything seemed to go wrong. Before the season even started, Cox battled a foot injury and was sidelined for quite a few of the Eagles’ offseason activities. Once he returned for the season opener against the rival Washington Redskins, Philly’s other starting defensive tackle, Malik Jackson, was placed on injured reserve and was deemed out for the season.

Jackson who signed a three-year deal during the 2019 offseason worth $30 million was supposed to alleviate some of the pressure and eliminate the possibility of the double teams that Cox would see (that will be discussed more later), but one week into the season, he was gone.

That helped lead to Cox only being able to record a career-low 2.5 sacks and a measly 40 tackles in 2019. Despite the poor 2019 outing, Philly’s stud at defensive tackle is in for a bounceback season. Here are three reasons why Cox can win 2020’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.