Jason Kelce was the Philadelphia Eagles’ most valuable starter in 2019
Jason Kelce was the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2019 MVP.
All in all, the 2020 NFL season was pretty good for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Not great mind you, it wasn’t 2017, but after missing the postseason for a trio of seasons in a row from 2014-16, landing a third straight postseason ticket off a 9-7 record is a lot better than missing the playoffs entirely with despite having the best offense in football.
Boy, now that would be embarrassing.
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So naturally, when a team is as good as the Eagles for a full season – I know, I know they weren’t good for the whole season, but bear with me here – some players are going to rise above the rest and land firmly in the elite echelon of the NFL, right? Even the worst team in the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals, has a few good players like Geno Atkins and Joe Mixon, so the Eagles have to be loaded with talent.
But, you may ask, who was the Eagles’ most valuable player? Surely it has to be Carson Wentz, right? Or maybe Brandon Brooks? What about defensive leaders like Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, or even the dearly departed (for NO) Malcolm Jenkins?
According to Pro Football Reference, the internet’s top spot for all things football stats, the most valuable player on the Eagles’ roster according to their ‘average value’ stat was actually Jason Kelce, the team’s All-Pro center.
Shocking, right? I mean, it is in the headline.
Now granted, this isn’t a particularly surprising outcome, as Kelce was the only player on the roster to receive both Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors for his work in 2019, but in a league obsessed with quarterbacks, receivers, and pass rushers, it’s oddly refreshing to see a center get a little shine for yet another season of wickedly good play.
Anchoring 2019’s ‘best offensive line in the NFL‘ according to Pro Football Focus, Kelce only allowed two sacks and three penalties while playing 100 percent of the team’s 1163 offensive snaps – which, FYI, was also the most regular season snaps of any team in the NFL. Kelce was a willing blocker against the pass rush – even against his former arch-enemy, the nose tackle – a beast against the run, and easily the most dominant puller in the NFL when tasked with getting into space as a body-clearing lead blocker.
One could make the argument that Miles Sanders wouldn’t have been a Rookie of the Year runner-up and Carson Wentz wouldn’t have been able to drag a motley crew of receivers highlighted by Deontay Burnett, Robert Davis, and converted tight end Josh Perkins to the playoffs had Kelce been sidelined for his backup Issac Seumalo and/or rookie UDFA Nate Herbig.
And as you can probably imagine, this isn’t the first year Kelce has been among the Eagles’ top AV performers either, not even close.
Since hitting his career-high watermark in 2017 with a 14, Kelce has recorded two straight AV of 13 seasons in 2018 and 2019. To make matters even more impressive, the Eagles only really settled on Kelce’s next-door neighbor, Issac Seumalo, midway through 2018, with players like Stephen Wisniewski and Chance Warmack cycling in and out for stretches in 2017 and 2018.
Not too bad for a player who has almost retired during three straight offseasons.
The Philadelphia Eagles should re-sign Jason Peters to play left tackle. dark. Next
Could 2020 be the year Jason Kelce finally looks human again? Maybe so, but with Brandon Brooks out for the season with an Achilles injury, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to need their mulleted (295-pound) mauler to turn in another season for the record books to maintain the offensive line dominance the team has staked their name on over the last few seasons.