PFF ranks Eagles as a Top-5 team heading into the 2022 season
Now that we’re a week away from the NFL’s opening weekend, Pro Football Focus has released their final power rankings for all 32 teams heading into 2022. The Eagles have quickly catapulted up nearly every outlet’s power rankings over the past week or so, including PFF’s.
For the first time this offseason, Philly has cracked the top-5 in PFF’s power rankings. Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and both Los Angeles teams ranked ahead of the Eagles, with Green Bay, Cincinnati, and Kansas City coming in right behind them.
PFF broke down their assessments of each team into three categories: Biggest strength, biggest weakness, and X factor for 2022. How they assessed this Eagles squad shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Biggest strength/weakness/X factor for the Eagles, per PFF
- Biggest strength: Offensive line
- Biggest weakness: Safety
- X factor: Jalen Hurts
It’s no secret that the Eagles have arguably the best offensive line in football. Jason Kelce is a future Hall of Famer and fresh off a first-team All-Pro campaign. Lane Johnson is one of the best right tackles in football. On 416 pass blocking snaps last season, Johnson didn’t allow a single sack.
Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson have emerged as budding stars along the offensive line. Mailata earned a PFF offensive grade of 88.3 in 2021, third-best among 83 qualifying tackles.
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has done an outstanding job with this group and they figure to be a top unit again in 2022.
As for the team’s biggest weakness, it’s hard to argue with PFF’s assessment there. Nearly every other position across the board is buttoned up heading into 2022. Safety is still somewhat uncertain.
As PFF points out, “Trading for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson certainly adds talent to the room, but it’s also a change in role for Gardner-Johnson. Sixty-seven percent of his defensive snaps have came in the slot over the first three years of his career with the Saints.”
CGJ has already become a fan favorite in this town for his boisterous personality and shit-talking acumen. Nevertheless, if his transition to safety doesn’t go as smoothly as some are expecting, he’ll quickly become the target of Eagles fans’ dismay.
That’s never a great spot to be in, but I’m sure Gardner-Johnson will handle it calmly and without causing a ruckus.
To cap things off, PFF’s biggest X factor for the Eagles this season is, of course, quarterback Jalen Hurts.
PFF writes, “While the Eagles have done a good job of bolstering this roster over the past year, they’ll go only as far as Jalen Hurts takes them.”
None of us can say for certain if Hurts is franchise quarterback material just yet. With the assortment of talent Howie Roseman has surrounded his signal caller with, there’s no doubt we’ll have our answer to the Hurts question by season’s end.
Mandatory Credit: The Athletic
