Fletcher Cox offers his opinions about Eagles teammates, coaches

Unless you’re a fan of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, an alum or you spend the majority of your Saturdays digesting a healthy dose of the college football games that are being played in the Southeastern Conference, your introduction to Fletcher Cox probably came when the Philadelphia Eagles made him the 12th-overall selection during Round 1 of the 2012 NFL Draft.

We go back and forth sometimes about the fact that the Birds screw up their first-round draft choices more often than they nail them, but we feel pretty confident now in stating that this is a decision that worked out pretty well for them.

Here’s a trip down memory lane and a look at Fletcher Cox’s future with the Eagles.

Time has flown by. Fletcher Cox has played ten seasons in the NFL. He’s made six Pro Bowls. He’s been elected by the Associated Press to their First-team All-Pro squad once (2018) and their Second-team All-Pro squad three times (2014, 2015, 2017). It also has to be mentioned that he’s also a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.

The 2021-2022 campaign wasn’t his best, and no one’s been harder on him than some of our staff at Inside The Iggles. This has to be said though. Fletch’s leadership can’t be questioned, especially after this season. His impact on Philly’s turnaround from a team that went from a 2-5 start to a playoff appearance can’t be denied.

The deck was seemingly stacked against head coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s success. They had to win over the veterans on this roster, and they did that. Had that not happened, this team wouldn’t have earned a playoff berth, so kudos to the respected guys in the locker room, like Fletcher Cox, for buying in. Doing so helped fuel the turnaround,

There were rough spots. Fletch spoke publicly about them, but in the end, cooler heads prevailed and common ground was found. Here’s what 91 had to say about both Jonathan Gannon and Nick Sirianni during a sit-down following the Eagles’ Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Again, have we been hard on the future Hall of Famer? We most certainly were, but we should have been. We expect more because we know Fletch is capable of more. Speaking of expectations and exceeding them, Cox was very complimentary of two of his teammates, both Javon Hargrave and Milton Williams. He names the latter as one of the guys that he enjoyed watching the most this season. Take a look.

So, moving forward, it will be a while before we see an Eagles game again. That’s a bummer, but as disappointing as the final game was this year, there are building blocks for the future. The Eagles will have money to spend in free agency. They’re armed with draft picks for the 2022 NFL Draft in April. That includes three picks in the first round (if they don’t trade one).

The future looks bright. Fletcher Cox has been a part of this team for a while and will be a part of that future. He’s promised a bounce-back year in 2022. We hope he’s right.

The season is over. The real work begins now. It should be fun to watch the changes the Eagles make over the next few months.