3 Eagles jumpstart a possible Philly-heavy run in the top half of NFL Top 100 players ranking

The NFL's Top 100 Players countdown is nearing its home stretch. Some would say the Philadelphia Eagles need more representation on the list after racking 70 sacks, breaking a few scoreboards, and fielding eight Pro Bowlers (and six All-Pros). Others might state the list as a whole has been pretty satisfactory so far. You can argue among yourselves about which side of the fence you're sitting on.

Here's where we all can agree. After coming within four points of hoisting the second Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, it seems a bit odd that we have only seen DeVonta Smith (100) and Darius Slay (65) named among the first 50 players that were unveiled during the countdown. Then again, maybe the voters saved all of the Birds' entries for the top half of the ranking. Yeah... Yeah... That's it!

The first ten names ranking's top half have been unveiled, and we're off to a good start. After
only seeing two Eagles among the first 50 players that made the cut, Birds fans saw three of their favorite players named during the unveiling of players 49 through 30.

Eagles Pro Bowlers Haason Reddick, Lane Johnson, and Jason Kelce crack the NFL Top 100 Players ranking at 48, 41, and 37 respectively.

Maybe we shouldn't complain about having to be patient and wait on the mention of our guys. After a historic season in 2022, it only makes sense that some of the Philadelphia Eagles' best players land in the top half of a top 100 players countdown, right? After all, we did take some issue with DeVonta Smith being as low as 100 and Darius Slay being as low as 65.

With that being said, we could argue that Lane Johnson and Haason Reddick should be ranked higher. The former hasn't surrendered a sack in forever, and the latter is, without question, one of the best edge rushers in the game.

Here's what was said about both of them. We begin with NFL.com's take on Reddick.

"Likely the best defensive free-agent signing of 2022, Reddick put himself on the map in Philadelphia. He finished tied with Myles Garrett for second-most sacks (16) while leading the NFL with five forced fumbles. He showed up in the clutch, too, adding 3.5 more sacks and another fumble created during the Eagles’ playoff run. Due $1.08 million in base salary heading into 2023, Reddick remains a massive bargain for the defending NFC champs."

- Bobby Kownack, NFL.com digital content

"Likely, the best defensive signing of 2022"... Yep, we can agree on that. Here is Kownack's take on Johnson.

"Johnson is one of the most dominant linemen in the game, possessing the rare combination of mauling strength and quick feet. He’s a natural fit to block for mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts and the run-happy Eagles. Johnson was named to his second first-team All-Pro team in 2022 while earning the second-highest PFF pass blocking grade (90.1) among tackles, plus his position’s fifth-highest offensive grade overall (84.8)."

Update: Perhaps we were on to something.

Guess what Eagles Nation? We may have been on to something. Shortly after the release of this story, players 39 through 30 were unveiled. Our fifth Bird cracked the list, and it's none other than the legend, Jason Kelce. Take a look.

30 more players are still to be revealed. We haven't seen 2022 Second-Team All-Pro James Bradberry, first-time Pro Bowler Landon Dickerson. or all-world wide receiver A.J. Brown. Big things could be coming with this countdown. We could be in for a big finish. More Eagles figure to be named, but here's what we know.

After he and Darius Slay were left off of Pro Football Focus' ranking of the NFL's top 50 players (and after PFF showed them some love following the obvious snub), Jalen Hurts had better be on this list. We can be quoted on that. If no one else is going to carry the flag, especially after being robbed of the MVP trophy, we'll carry said flag ourselves.

Check out a few of these other Eagles stories as well.