Top 5 Athletes In Philly Pro Sports
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- May 10th, 2012.
That was the last time a Philadelphia professional sports team advanced in the playoffs. It's safe to say, the Philly sports scene is grim.
On Tuesday, the 94WIP Midday Show with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie tried to put together a list of the top five pro athletes in Philadelphia right now, which unfortunately illustrates the bleakness of sports in this town.
Related: Howie Roseman: Alshon Jeffery's One-Year Deal Is A 'Win-Win'
Ben Simmons would be on this list, but he hasn't played a game for the Sixers yet and is still recovering from a foot injury. We hope Carson Wentz will be on this list soon, but after just one decent NFL season we can't put him there yet. J.P. Crawford is supposed to be on this list based on everything we're told, but he still hasn't made his major league debut.
While a bunch of names came up and were debated by callers and the hosts, here is my top five as we sit here on March 21st, 2017.
5. Dario Saric
Despite his struggles a case could be made for Claude Giroux based on his body of work. A case could also be made for Wayne Simmonds, who is having a career year. You could certainly argue for Eagles defensive leaders Jordan Hicks or Malcolm Jenkins. Or maybe even Maikel Franco or Ivan Provorov, although those two youngsters have a ways to go.
I just can't ignore when Dario Saric is doing a nightly basis.
Saric is averaging 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 26.1 minutes per game this season, shooting 32.4-percent from three-point range (which is solid for a rookie coming from another country).
In 11 March games, Saric is averaging 19.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game.
The NBA rookie of the year probably deserves to be on this list.
4. Lane Johnson
Johnson infuriated us with his second PED suspension last season, but he also proved in his worth. While he was out the Eagles' offense struggled mightily. The Eagles were 5-1 with Johnson in the lineup last season.
Johnson, a 6'6", 320-pound offensive lineman -- the Eagles' 2013 fourth overall pick -- turns just 27 in May.
3. Alshon Jeffery
Jeffery has yet to take a snap for the Eagles, but on paper, he's their best wide receiver since Terrell Owens. At 6-3, 220 ish pounds, Jeffery has a catch radius of 10.25 (89th percentile), according to playerprofiler.com.
In both of his full seasons, Jeffery caught least 85 catches, accumulated at least 1,100 yards, and recorded at least seven touchdowns.
Vegas sets his over/unders at 950 yards and 6.5 touchdowns.
2. Fletcher Cox
Cox didn't have a necessarily dominant 2016 season based on the numbers, but he was still really good and the analytics well tell you his value on the field. The 26-year-old defensive tackle has recorded 16.0 sacks in the past two seasons and is one of the most dominant d-tackles in the NFL.
1. Joel Embiid
I know, I know. He's played 31 games in three years and is potentially facing yet another surgery. Still, The Process did enough this season to prove how talented he is, averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game.
