Philadelphia Eagles: Jason Kelce named NFL’s most underappreciated player
After suffering through his second straight Pro Bowl snub in 2018, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce was named NFL.com’s most underappreciated player.
If you happen upon NFL.com’s list of the ‘Most underappreciated players of 2018‘, you may recognize the player atop the list: Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Now on the surface, it’s always nice to see a Philly athlete get a little extra shine from the national media, especially on a list of underrated players, but the idea that the elder Kelce is somehow underappreciated in the City of Brotherly Love is a bit preposterous if you ask me.
I mean, this is a man who came to his team’s Super Bowl parade wearing a freaking Mummers costume for goodness sake; Kelce is a legend in our fair city.
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But the writer of the piece, NFL Network Analytics Expert Cynthia Frelund does bring up an interesting point: Maybe even the most hardcore football fans don’t appreciate offensive lineman – especially centers – in the same way they do a star quarterback, wide receiver, or even edge rusher.
Maybe Kelce can help to change that.
The owner of the league’s “highest win-contribution metric for any center“, Kelce is the proverbial anchor of the Eagles offensive line from (literally) the snap. With enough speed to get around the edge as a pull lead blocker and enough power hold up against even the most oversized nose tackles, Kelce’s playing his best football at the tender age of 31, and he’s somehow getting better with age.
Starting all 16 regular season games for the fourth straight season, Kelce actually allowed the fewest sacks (one) and penalties (four) since 2016 and 2014 respectively.
Though he didn’t lead the way for a thousand-yard rusher for the Eagles in 2018 (a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2014), Kelce was still instrumental in crafting the NFL’s 14th ranked overall offense, and seventh-ranked passing offense.
And now, with an improved collection of offensive weapons like JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Jordan Howard, and Miles Sanders in the fray, it’s entirely possible that Kelce’s efforts could be rewarded with another deep playoff run, and his third trip to the Pro Bowl (officially exempting him from Frelund’s list).
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Not bad for a player who contemplated retiring from the league, and the Philadelphia Eagles all together just a few months ago.