In a long hallway in the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles honor every member of their team who has ever made a Pro Bowl.
Last year, there were a few new additions to the list as Darius Slay, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Jake Elliott were all first-time Eagles Pro Bowlers. Slay had been a Pro Bowler before with the Lions but the other three were first-timers.
And there are still plenty of candidates on this team to make their first career Pro Bowl in 2022. Here they are in order of most to least likely:
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1. Jordan Mailata
Both of the Eagles’ starting tackles were snubbed by the Pro Bowl last season. But Lane Johnson has made the team three times before so he’s not eligible for this list. Mailata, 25, played at a Pro Bowl level in 2021 in his first full season as a starter and is still getting better. It really feels like it’s just a matter of time before he gets the recognition. As long as he stays healthy and doesn’t regress, he feels like the best bet to make the Pro Bowl in 2022. Heck, ProFootballFocus said Mailata graded out as the third-best tackle in football behind just Trent Williams and Tyron Smith.
Both Williams and Smith made the Pro Bowl roster last year in the NFC and were joined by Tristan Wirfs, D.J. Humphries, Brian O’Neill and Duane Brown. Mailata should have a good shot at replacing one of those guys in 2022 if he plays like he did last season.
2. Haason Reddick
NFL
It’s somewhat surprising but Reddick has not yet been named to a Pro Bowl roster despite having 23 1/2 sacks over the last two seasons. There’s some projection based on how Reddick will fit into Jonathan Gannon’s defense but he’ll be asked to do what he does best: Rush the passer. Few have done that as well as Reddick over the last couple of NFL seasons. Just four players have had more sacks than Reddick over the last two seasons.
Despite being the top vote-getter at the outside linebacker position in the NFL, Reddick was a first-alternate and missed making the roster. He was behind Chandler Jones, Robert Quinn and Shaquil Barrett, three very god players. While Quinn and Barrett are back with their respective teams, Jones left the NFC as a free agent, signing with the Raiders.
3. Dallas Goedert
After beginning last season sharing snaps with Zach Ertz, Goedert showed his ability to be a true TE1 after the Eagles traded Ertz to Arizona. From that point on, Goedert had 41 catches for 614 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s a 1,000-yard pace. On talent alone, Goedert is already a Pro Bowl caliber tight end. The idea here is that with a full season as the Eagles’ top tight end, he’ll finally get that type of recognition. Sometimes the blocking duties of tight ends are overlooked but Goedert is a true dual threat and was PFF’s No. 2 tight end last year, tied with George Kittle.
The NFC’s Pro Bowl tight ends in 2021 were Kittle and rookie Kyle Pitts. That’s the problem for Goedert. Both of those guys are back in 2022 and should still be on the top of their games. That means it might not be easy for Goedert to crack the roster but he’ll put himself squarely in the conversation.
4. Miles Sanders
Every time we talk about Sanders, it starts with health. He’s had a bunch of injuries — plenty of flukey ones — but he needs to stay healthy to have any chance of being a Pro Bowler. When he’s on the field, Sanders is pretty good. The 25-year-old averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season. That was a career high and despite not scoring a touchdown last year — that feels flukey too — he’s the Eagles’ most productive running back. His production in the pass game peaked in 2019 when he had 500 yards through the air. We don’t expect him to get back there but a bump up from 26/158 from the 2021 season would help.
The NFC’s Pro Bowl running backs from last season were Dalvin Cook, James Conner and Alvin Kamara. All three of those running backs have bigger respective roles with their teams but Kamara could be facing a suspension of six games stemming from an arrest during Pro Bowl weekend in Vegas.
5. DeVonta Smith
The No. 10 overall pick from the 2021 season had a pretty good rookie campaign. As the No. 1 option in the Eagles’ offense last season, Smith caught 64 passes for 916 yards and 5 touchdowns. You could argue that the presence of A.J. Brown might hurt Smith’s numbers, but you could also argue that Brown will warrant enough attention to give Smith a chance to get open. After facing all top corners as a rookie, Smith will presumably be facing more CB2s in 2022 and that’s with a year in the league already under his belt. His numbers will need to improve to get into the Pro Bowl.
The NFC’s Pro Bowl receivers from last season were Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans and CeeDee Lamb. Jefferson and Samuel replaced Kupp and Adams. That’s why there were so many on that list. Even with Adams out of the conference (he’s with the Raiders now) there is plenty of talent at the receiver position in the NFC. But Smith ought to have a chance if he continues to improve.
Honorable mentions: Nakobe Dean, Landon Dickerson, Jalen Hurts, Kyzir White
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