Ranking every Eagles starting defensive lineman from best to worst

Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox

Time catches up with all of us at some point, even a six-time Pro Bowler that’s dominated the NFL from the defensive tackle position for over a decade. Fletcher Cox is still someone that defensive coordinators worry about, but if you’re looking for the presence that we unanimously considered to be the second-best player in the NFL at the position behind Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams, you won’t be seeing that on Eagles game days.

That title would now probably fall on Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs or DeForest Buckner of the Indianapolis Colts. You don’t even want to look at Pro Football Focus if you’re a Cox fan. They tend to bury him under just about every defensive tackle in football.

Again, Fletcher Cox isn’t what he once was. He may be relying on reputation at this point more than anything else. It might be time to realize that getting the young guys some snaps might be the best play for Philly’s defense now, but that isn’t meant to be intended as being disrespectful to the legend.

He’s one of the greatest Eagles of all time and a surefire Hall of Famer, but if we’re being honest, if you’re looking for those dominating performances that we’ve all become accustomed to seeing, this just isn’t that guy anymore.