Getty Before he was an NFL star, Fletcher Cox was just a kid from a small town in Mississippi with a tight-knit family.
Fletcher Cox finished at No. 28 on the NFL Network’s list of the Top 100 players in the league. He wasn’t happy about it, not even a little bit. Cox, arguably the best defensive tackle in football, defied anyone to name 27 players better than him. (Note: they are voted on by the players themselves).
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Cox was upset with his ranking and said: “We all know the truth. You’re not going to tell me there’s 27 people in the league better than me. Turn the tape on.”
#Eagles DT Fletcher Cox on finishing No. 28 in this year’s NFL Network Top 100: “We all know the truth. You’re not going to tell me there’s 27 people in the league better than me. Turn the tape on.”
Remember, Pro Football Focus named Cox as the fourth-best player in the entire NFL back in June. He received one of the best pass-rush grades in the league (91.2) — second only to the Rams’ Aaron Donald — and PFF called him a “first-ballot Hall of Famer that will undoubtedly retire as one of the NFL’s top interior linemen to ever play the game.”
We’re down to four! The Eagles’ star interior defender Fletcher Cox claims No. 4 on the #PFF50 countdown!
Fletcher Cox Ready for Season Opener
Fletcher Cox was forced from the Eagles’ divisional-round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints after sustaining a nasty foot injury. The 28-year-old had to undergo surgery on his right foot to repair the damage and there was a thought he may not be ready for the season opener. That’s not the case.
Cox fully expects to be ready for the Washington Redskins on September 8. However, the Eagles are taking an extremely cautious approach with him. He has been relegated to the sideline for much of training camp while slowly taking part in some individual drills.
“I’ve just tried to be smart about it and follow the plan,” Cox told The Inquirer. “Everything is on schedule. I just need to keep following what the [Eagles] trainers tell me to do.”
That doesn’t mean Cox hasn’t been making his presence heard from the sideline. He’s been one of the most vocal leaders out there.
“You guys [the media] see him and you guys hear him probably more than any other player because he’s in the practice — and we ask all our guys that are doing that,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “They are not missing that, but they are also staying active with our other guys and I think that’s important, particularly a guy like Fletch that’s one of the leaders of our team and it’s important that he stays in that role.”
Eagles Players Snubbed on NFL Top 100
NFL Network’s list of the Top 100 players has almost been revealed in its entirety — the final 10 players will be named tonight — and there are quite a few Eagles missing on it. To recap those that made the list: Fletcher Cox (28), Zach Ertz (40), Jason Kelce (72) and Carson Wentz (96). All worthy selections, for sure.
Quick tracker of those deserving Eagles left off the list includes Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Alshon Jeffery, Malcolm Jenkins, DeSean Jackson. Don’t think for a minute those guys won’t be extra motivated to prove they belong this season. Johnson hilariously took issue last year when the program ranked him at an incredibly low No. 95.
“Obviously, it’s a joke,” Johnson said in 2018, via NBC Sports. “Better luck next year. That’s what they tell me. I think it’s just … there’s so many great players, it’s hard to put them in order. I guess just being on there is cool. Hoping next year, I’ll be a little bit lower on the list.”
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