The Philadelphia Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions, and ESPN seems to think they are well set to repeat again this year.
After a dominant victory in the Super Bowl over the back-to-back reigning Super Bowl winner, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles are back to follow in the Chiefs' footsteps and repeat this season. And although they bid farewell to Milton Williams and Darius Slay in the offseason, the Eagles have the highest number of top-100 players in the NFL, according to ESPN.
“The Eagles lead the pack with 10 players, followed by the Lions with eight and the 49ers and Ravens with six each,” ESPN wrote. “The Saints and the Panthers are the only teams without a representative. Quarterbacks and wide receivers dominated, with 15 players each making our list.”
While the Eagles had nearly one side of the ball in total in the top 100, DeVonta Smith was notably left out of the top 100. The former first-round pick played a career-low 13 games this past season, in which he failed to reach 900 yards for the first time. Still, he set a career high with 8 touchdown receptions.
So why wasn't Smith one of the top 10 Eagles?
“Even coming off a down year, Smith is almost always in the top-10 wide receiver conversation … although he wasn't one of the 15 wideouts (or 10 Eagles) named to this season's top 100,” according to ESPN. He plays for a run-happy offense and plays the No. 2 role behind A.J. Brown, yet still averages 1,000-plus yards per year over his first four seasons — and that's with missing five games since 2023.
“When Brown missed early-season action last year, Smith delivered with 14 catches, 155 yards and one touchdown in Weeks 2-3. He's the classic eye-test, football-people-know receiver, the kind of player that transcends numbers.”
An NFC executive said of Smith, “Great route-runner, super smooth with great body control, high cruising speed so he always makes it difficult for defenses.”
If Smith remains healthy in 2025, he will likely be among the Eagles in the top 100 in 2026.
Philadelphia opens the NFL season on Thursday, Sept. 4, at home vs. its NFC East archrival, the Dallas Cowboys.
