Philadelphia Eagles: Fletcher Cox, Zach Ertz named to NFL Top 100 list

Two more Philadelphia Eagles have been named to the NFL Top 100 players of 2018 list in Fletcher Cox and Zach Ertz, tying the team’s total from last year.

The Philadelphia Eagles are finally starting to get a bit more respect for their hard work from the national media.

Though the team only landing four players on the NFL Top 100 players list in 2017, the Eagles have already tied their total from last year in the first 40 picks alone after 2018 Pro Bowlers Fletcher Cox and Zach Ertz were officially named to the player voted 2018 list alongside their teammates Malcolm Jenkins and Lane Johnson on Monday, May 15th.

And really, should anyone be surprised?

After racking up the best record in the entire NFL during the 2017 regular season at 13-3, the Eagles ran the table in postseason play and secured their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history, off the backs of one of the deepest rosters in the entire league.

To be honest, I’m surprised only four players have been announced thus far.

With a plethora of young, hyper-talented player currently calling South Philly home, the Eagles look like they could very well become the next great NFL dynasty, with even more players eventually finding their names on future Top 100 lists moving forward.

Arguably two of the biggest playmakers on the team, Cox and Ertz played major roles in the Eagles success in 2017 and will continue to be vital parts of the team for years to come.

The $100 million man, Fletcher Cox continued to dominate the offensive lines of the NFC East and NFL in general in 2017 as the Eagles unquestioned best defensive player on the team.

Though he only recorded 26 total tackles in 2017, a surprisingly small total based in his impact on the team’s games, Cox recorded 5.5 sacks in 14 regular season games of action and served as the lynchpin of Jim Schwartz‘s 4-3 wide-nine defense both in the regular season and in the Eagles playoff run.

Typically lining up over opposing team’s right guard, Cox is an absolute monster in the interior while possesses the incredibly rare ability to collapse the pocket from inside and free up his fellow linemates to get one-on-one coverage. Though he didn’t have the best individual season of his career in 2017, Cox helped lead the Eagles to a 38 sack regular season, the 15th highest mark in the league.

But a defenses dominance cannot be measured by sacks alone.

Related Story: Malcolm Jenkins, Lane Johnson land in NFL Top 100

With one of the most dominant defensive lines in the game, Cox and company often forced teams to get rid of the ball fast to avoid pressure, and thus limited opposing offensive coordinators options in both the passing and run game.

As one of the most feared defenders in the entire league by his peers, Cox is a classic lunch pail player, who comes into work every day, does the dirty work and helps his team win, regardless of how it shows up on the stats sheet.

A textbook definition of what it means to be ‘Philly Tuff’, Cox is a throwback defender in the vein of Jerome Brown and Reggie White and may find his jersey hanging in the rafters of Lincoln Financial Field alongside them in a few years.

But for now, the 69th spot of the NFL Top 100 list is just fine for number 91.

It seems like every year in recent memory has been “The year Zach Ertz finally breaks out“, but luckily for Philly fans, the 2018 NFL season was actually the year Zach Ertz finally broke out and became one of the top tight ends in the entire league.

Officially cemented as Carson Wentz‘s favorite receiving target, Ertz led all Eagles in receiving yards with 824 yards and became one of the deadliest red zone threats in the entire league, hauling in eight touchdowns in 16 games.

Recording the third most receiving yards and the second most touchdowns of any tight end in the league, Ertz took advantage of plenty of single coverage in the middle of the field and delivered the goods in open space.

And after playing almost exclusively as a glorified wide receiver over his first four years in the league, Ertz finally took the next step in his development as a player.

While he’s far from the blocker that his former position mate Brent Celek has developed into over his decade in the league, the Eagles finally felt comfortable enough to keep Ertz on the field as an extra blocker, and allowing the recently extended playmaker to stay on the field for almost 70 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in 2017, the eight highest mark of any player on the team.

With Dallas Goedert now in the fold to sure up the team’s tight ends room, the  Eagles look destined to have arguably the best one-two tight end punch in the entire NFL for the next half-decade plus, in a move that should allow Ertz to continue to dominate the middle of the field one-on-one for years to come.

Next: Don’t count out running back Donnel Pumphrey

With 60 more players still to be named in the NFL Top 100 list, which Philadelphia Eagles do you think deserve a spot on the list? Let us know in the comments below.