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Eagles player power rankings: Defense edition

12 October 2016 Eagles News

It is safe to say the Eagles’ defense struggled in the first half of the Detroit Lions game. However, after some adjustments, they shut it down in the second half. You can almost say this defense has a bend, but do not break mentality. Based on the game last Sunday, here is my defensive player power rankings going into week six.

  1. Fletcher Cox- Cox registered one sack and four quarterback hurries versus the Lions. He was able to keep his sack streak alive, he now has eight sacks in his last eight games. It is clear, Cox is the best defensive player on the roster. Every game he finds a way to make an impact. There is no question anymore, he is an elite player.
  2. Brandon Graham- Graham was a monster versus the Lions. He did not get rewarded with a sack, but he still accounted for five quarterback hurries and one quarterback hit. He was also second on the team in tackles, he had five on the day. Graham did a great job causing havoc pass rushing and setting the edge in the running game. Ever since the switch to a 4-3 scheme, Graham has been one of the Eagles best players.
  3. Rodney McLeod- McLeod led the team in tackle versus the Lions with eight.  He is one of three players on defense who played every snap versus the Lions. He also almost had an interception. However, he does lead the team in interceptions this season with two. He has played at a very high level all season. In fact, the Eagles have a lot of faith in him. Numerous times versus the Lions, the Eagles went with a single high safety. This allowed Malcolm Jenkins to take over in the slot, they trust McLeod back on his own. He has been a huge bolster to the Eagles.
  4. Malcolm Jenkins- Along with McLeod, he played every snap. Jenkins did not have a big day tackling, he only registered one. But, his impact was very much noticed. As I noted before, the addition of McLeod allows Jenkins to move around. Jenkins was all over the field making little plays. He did a lot of the dirty work, work that goes unnoticed on the stat sheet. What I really like about him is his leadership. The Eagles defense was getting demolished early on. Jenkins was able to corral  the troops and they ended up having a pretty good game.
  5. Vinny Curry– For his workload, he was the most efficient player on the field. He played only 16 snaps, but still managed two tackles and one huge sack. There were a lot of players who could of made this spot, but Curry had the greatest impact. His play should earn him more snaps for sure.

Photo Credit: Ed Mahan, Philadelphia Eagles

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