Eagles' Roster Ranked 6th Best In NFL
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In his first offseason with personnel control, Chip Kelly went bananas.
Kelly controversially overhauled his roster despite winning 10 games in each of his first two seasons as Eagles coach. Nevertheless, Pro Football Focus' (PFF) analysts ranked Kelly's Birds as the sixth best roster in the NFL, one spot worse than their 2014 ranking. The Eagles, according to the study, have the sixth most (eight) elite/high-quality players on their roster.
PFF says the top five Eagles' players are Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, DeMarco Murray, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham. Mathis' 2015 status, of course, is still uncertain.
The most polarizing move Kelly made was trading Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for quarterback Sam Bradford.
"Adding Sam Bradford at quarterback probably doesn't provide much of a change in production from what Kelly has gotten out of Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez the past two years, and that's not necessarily a bad thing," PFF's Sam Monson wrote.
On defense, the Eagles will boast one of the top linebacker corps in the league with Mychal Kendricks, Connor Barwin, DeMeco Ryans, Graham, and Kiko Alonso (acquired in a trade with Buffalo for LeSean McCoy). Their brand new secondary, however, is the Eagles' most intriguing defensive unit.
"The position to watch is cornerback, where Byron Maxwell comes over from Seattle, and Nolan Carroll will battle rookies Eric Rowe and JaCorey Shepherd for the starting role vacated by the departing Bradley Fletcher, who was coming off a disastrous 2014," says Monson.
The Seahawks, Packers, Ravens, Patriots, and Broncos---in order---are the top-five NFL rosters according to PFF. The Cowboys, Seahawks, and Packers are tied for the most elite/high-quality players with 10.
