Current Eagles and one former are way-too-early entrants on NFL Top 100 ranking

You know another NFL nears when you see three things: those team yearbooks constructed by NFL Films, players reporting to training camp, and the Top 100 Players ranking. The latter is a list comprised strictly of player votes. If you're like most, you probably check out the latter to see how many Philadelphia Eagles are on the list and where they land.

Oh come on! Don't act like it's just us and we are the only people who do this.

A pair of current Eagles and one former player make way-too-early appearances on the Top 100 Players of 2024 ranking.

And, just like that, we have transitioned from the NFL's slow news spell to Christmas in July. There are no trees to decorate or anything, but the Birds report to training camp on the 23rd, so it kind of feels like the same thing.

They begin practicing on the 24th, but fear not. There's already plenty to discuss, The Top 100 NFL Players of 2024 ranking for instance.

At the time of this story's release, players ranked 100th through 81st have already been released. We have seen two current Birds and one former, and in our opinion, all are ranked to low.

Also read: The Eagles' best early contenders for each major NFL postseason award

Do not adjust your computer monitors or restart your phones. This is not a drill. DeVonta Smith is ranked 90th, Haason Reddick lands at 87, and Saquon Barkley ranks 86th. Sure, there are a lot of great players in the NFL, and we're trying to blind rank them versus guys we haven't seen yet. Still, is it us, or does something seem wrong with this?

Here is what was said about all three on NFL.com. Thank Krissy Hetherington for the write-up.

On DeVonta Smith:

"Smith finished the year with 1,000+ receiving yards for the second consecutive season and tacked on seven touchdowns to move up the rankings and earn himself a three-year extension. But despite a star quarterback and the dual threat of Smith and A.J. Brown, the Eagles collapsed after starting the year 10-1 and flamed out in the Wild Card Round. In 2024, Smith and Co. will look to get back to the high-scoring attack that resulted in a trip to Super Bowl LVII."

On Haason Reddick:

"Reddick, who was traded to the Jets this past spring, had a career-best year in 2022 for the Eagles to earn a place on the Defensive Player of the Year ballot. However, he saw a drop in nearly every stat column in 2023. After finishing with 16 sacks in the previous season, Reddick still had 11 sacks to earn himself Pro Bowl honors, but he finished the year with 38 combined tackles, his lowest since his rookie season."

On Saquon Barkley:

"As one of just six players in NFL history to average 70-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receiving yards per game over his career, Barkley has proven himself to be one of the best offensive talents in the league. Barkley finished the 2023 season with 962 rushing yards and 10 scrimmage TDs; however, he has missed 21 games from 2020-23, including three contests last season which is concerning despite his productivity."

All of that is true, but we have to be honest. We're still puzzled. Here are a few random thoughts on our end.

Everyone knows we love DeVonta to death here at ITI. We hung out with him during the bye last season, so there's a possibility our view of him may be slanted or biased. But, we think he's underrated.

He has yet to earn a Pro Bowl nod. We can argue that he has probably been snubbed at least two times. It's like he's punished for being A.J. Brown's teammate and voters believe placing two Eagles on pro football's all-star team is immoral even if both are deserving.

Then again, he also landed 90th on this same list last season, so at least his peers have been consistent.

Haason Reddick and Saquon Barkley's ranking are equally puzzling, but again, we're currently blind-ranking 80 players in our minds and doing so by stacking guys we have seen versus guys we haven't. It's hard to make guesses about how these things will play out. Perhaps we need to see the rest of the list and revisit later. Perhaps we have hit the bullseye.

Here's where we're torn. We believe one's opinion is only as valuable as one's knowledge of the subject. Again, this list is being voted on by players. Who better to evaluate their peers, but them? But, there's another side.

We all should be able to see that DeVonta, Haason, and Saquon are better than Montez Sweat and Kirk Cousins, shouldn't we?

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