Ranking every Eagles starting defensive lineman from best to worst

We’re stacking the Eagles’ starting defensive linemen from best to worst.

Think back to the 2021 offseason. Do you remember how good you felt about the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive line?

During that point of the offseason, you would have been hard-pressed to find any NFL aficionados that believed the Eagles were a serious contender in the National Football Conference in terms of the 2021-2022 regular season. Even fewer of the sports world’s contingent thought that a playoff berth was possible, but one theme was a common one whenever the Birds were mentioned.

If nothing else, we could at least hang our hats on the fact that the defensive line was one of the team’s strengths. Heck, they should have been. They sure were expensive enough collectively.

Three of the Eagles’ starters were scheduled to earn more than $10 million this season, but no one seemed to be bothered. You know how much of a premium is placed on an NFL pass rush and winning in the trenches.

There was also this to consider. Fletcher Cox was hungry to prove that he was still one of the league’s best. Javon Hargrave closed his first season in Philly on a high note. Josh Sweat was an improving young pass rusher, and Derek Barnett was in a contract season.

We expected fireworks, and they’ve come on occasion. It just hasn’t happened weekly. This unit has too much talent for anyone to give up on them entirely though. With one game remaining before a Week 14 bye, here’s a raking featuring all four starters from top to bottom.