No one knows how the coming NFL season will shake out. Sure... the Kansas City Chiefs have established themselves as a dynasty and everything after toppling the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in consecutive Super Bowls, but no one knows if they'll raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy again in 2024. That's why we love this game... the unpredictable nature of football.
Every professional football franchise is eyeing the same goal, qualifying for football's biggest game and winning it. All that can be done between now and then is piecing the best possible team together. Philly has done that. They earned a passing grade during free agency. Then, they did it again by adding a solid draft class. The announcement of a solid UDFA class came afterward.
At each stop, everyone has offered their opnion, mainly in attempt to try to gauge which teams have a leg up on the competition. Wait! Did some say 'power rankings'?
We recently stacked every team Philly would face this season with a ranking of our own. As we were enjoying some time off we noticed something ESPN had offered.
The Philadelphia Eagles land among the NFL's top five teams in ESPN's recent post-draft power ranking of all 32 teams.
The 'worldwide leader in sports' website is always a nice place to hang out and see what their writers think. Recently, following the recent NFL Draft, they dropped a power ranking, one sharing the most improved area for every franchise.
Philly, after being ranked seventh in the platform's post-free agency ranking took up residency as the fifth-ranked team on the recent offering.
They follow the Chiefs, 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, and Detroit Lions. Here's Tim McManus's explanation of the facts and why he believes that should be the case:
"The Eagles signed C.J. Gardner-Johnsonin free agency to bolster the safety spot and then used their first two picks in April's draft on defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. All told, they could have three new starters in the defensive backfield this season.
Philadelphia finished 31st in passing touchdowns allowed last season with 35. With corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry both north of 30 years old, the Eagles needed to address the corner position for the short and long term, and they accomplished that this offseason."
Rounding out the rest of ESPN's top ten are the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and Green Bay Packers. If you're interested the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants land at 11, 27, and 28 respectively.
Might a division title and deep playoff run be in Philly's future? Again, it's too early to tell, but Howie Roseman has certainly done his job.
Games aren't won on paper, but boy... If only they were... Again, every team, at this point of the offseason is just doing all it can to earn a spot in the driver's seat.
Philly might be doing that job just as good as the top teams in the league. They're most certainly doing a better job than everyone in the middle and bottom tiers. The NFC East has been a two-team race for a good while and might be again, but our fingers are crossed that Philly wins that race even though we're certain their ling-term goals are loftier.