Building the perfect Philadelphia Eagles star out of former legends

What would the perfect player for the Philadelphia Eagles look like? What if you could stitch together some combination of parts taken from the greatest players in franchise history? Would he look like the members of our current undefeated squad, a player from the 2017 Super Bowl championship-winning team, or would he be something totally different, something unstoppable that we’ve never seen before?

The Eagles have a perfect record heading into Week 10 of the 2022-2023 NFL season. That got us thinking. What if we channeled our inner Dr. Frankenstein? Now seems like as good a time as any, a perfect time to construct the ultimate and perfect Eagle, one made from ten legends of the franchise.

Here’s how to build the ultimate Philadelphia Eagles star.

The perfect Philadelphia Eagles star needs Chuck Bednarik’s backbone.

You have to start with Chuck Bednarik, right? No one was tougher than Concrete Charlie. Bednarik played for the Eagles from 1949 to 1962.  He was voted All-NFL nine times and to the Pro Bowl eight times and was the only man to play for both the 1949 and 1960 championship-winning teams.

He excelled at both center and linebacker and was the NFL’s last (full-time) two-way player. He even made the game-saving tackle against Jim Taylor in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. The ultimate Eagle will have to play all positions, and Bednarik has the ideal framework to help him do so.

Naturally, he has to have Randall Cunningham’s arm.

He’s mostly remembered as a ‘running quarterback’, but nobody could throw the ball like Randall Cunningham. The ‘Ultimate Weapon’ was an Eagle from 1985 to 1995 and had an absolute cannon for an arm.

Donovan McNabb threw for more yards and touchdowns, and Ron Jaworski holds the record with a 99-yard pass to Mike Quick in 1985, but nobody ever made the long ball look as effortless as  Cunningham did.

Give him Jon Runyan’s guts and courage.

We’re not using actual guts here. That would be gross, but if we did the six-foot-seven, 330-pound Jon Runyan has plenty to offer. A member of the Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, Runyan never missed a game in nine years with the team. That’s 144 regular season games and 17 playoff games for those of you who are keeping count.

More recently, Runyan showed guts as the NFL’s Vice President of Policy and Rules Administration when he fined his own son for leg-whipping an opponent last month. Junior plays for the Green Bay Packers. We doubt that Mrs. Runyan was pleased with her husband on that day.

You can’t go wrong with Howie Roseman’s brain.

He may never fully grasp the finer points of interpersonal communication, but you won’t find a smarter human being than Howie Roseman. He manages the Eagles’ salary cap, roster, payroll, and the nation’s most demanding fan base. He put together the city’s first Super Bowl-winning roster. Then after some reinvention, he created the undefeated team we’re watching now.

The perfect Philadelphia Eagles star must have LeSean McCoy’s legs

LeSean McCoy leads the Eagles in career rushing with 6,792 yards, just edging out Wilbert Montgomery (6,538). Nobody ran to daylight better than Shady, and his legs caused more than a few broken ankles during his six years with the team.

Tony Franklin a.k.a. Tony Toes’ feet are a must.

Tony Franklin held 18 NCAA records as a kicker for Texas A&M. He kicked for the Eagles from 1973 to 1979.

He doesn’t own the records for most field goals made or attempted. Those records belong to David Akers. We give Franklin the nod for being the NFL’s first barefoot kicker. He attempted every kick without a shoe regardless of the weather, distance, or ingrown toenails. Now, what’s tougher than that?

The perfect Philadelphia Eagles star needs Harold Carmichael’s hands.

At six-foot-eight and 225 pounds, Harold Carmichael was one of the most intimidating receivers of all time. He wore size 15 gloves and he used them to haul in 589 catches for a franchise-record 8,978 yards. The sure-handed wideout was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020.

He may not have been a legend, but have you seen Takeo Spikes’ neck?

He wasn’t an Eagle for very long. In 2007, he played 14 games at linebacker for the Eagles before tearing his rotator cuff against the Cowboys, but he could bench press 490 pounds. He also had a 21-inch neck. His neck was even featured in ESPN the Magazine’s  “The Body Issue” in 2012.

He must have Jalen Mills’ hair. There’s no doubt about it.

Jalen Mills was a 7th-round pick in 2016. Believe it or not, character issues were a concern. It seems weird saying that now, huh? The ‘Green Goblin’ played five seasons for the Eagles, all with a head full of bright green hair.

Come on. The perfect Eagles must have swagger, right? Jalen wasn’t perfect, but his teammates always seemed to raise their level of play when he was on the field with them.

Now, with the New England Patriots, his hair remains the most beautiful shade of green. What can we say? Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.

We thought about giving him Dawk’s heart but chose to give him that of Eagles fans everywhere.

Brian Dawkins deserves serious consideration, but until he takes out a second mortgage to pay for season tickets, not even he can match the 67,594 screaming fans that fill The Linc on gamedays or the countless others that fill the parking lots, bars, and their living rooms in the Delaware Valley and everywhere else on Planet Earth.

The Ultimate Eagle could not exist without them, so go ahead and crack a smile Birds fans. There’s a smidgeon of all of you in our perfect Eagles star.