Ranking the Eagles’ roster full of overachievers, from Cooper DeJean to Zack Baun to Saquon Barkley

Now that it’s over and they’ve finished on top, it’s astonishing just how many Eagles exceeded expectations to an extreme degree. That’s the real story of winning Super Bowl LIX: In order to do it, at least a half-dozen players overachieved beyond any realistic expectations.

To borrow and amend Nick Sirianni’s favorite phrase, individual greatness from these overachievers relied on the greatness of other overachievers.

Blanket coverage in the secondary by Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean made it more likely that Zack Baun would have chances to make plays underneath and that Nolan Smith would have an extra second to get to the quarterback.

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The mere presence of running back Saquon Barkley paralyzed defenders to some degree for Cam Jurgens, while Jurgens’ recognition of defensive fronts and his execution of blocks at center opened holes the likes of which Barkley had never before seen.

Which of them overachieved the most? It wasn’t the veteran linebacker or the speed rusher or the record-breaking back.

It was the best rookie the Eagles have ever seen.

“Yeah, what ‘Q’ did this year was amazing,” is how six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay described it.

Amazing, yes. By every measure. He was incredibly efficient from Day One, which is more than you can expect even from a first-round pick; Derek Stingley Jr., taken No. 3 overall by the Texans in 2022, struggled terribly before injury ended his rookie season. Mitchell, the No. 22 overall pick last year, got better as the season progressed, and not just better but damn near perfect.

Is he the best rookie in Eagles history? Let’s see.

Keith Jackson caught 81 passes and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 1988 as he modernized the tight end position. But then, you could argue that Jackson wasn’t even the best Eagles rookie that season, because future Hall of Fame cornerback Eric Allen had five interceptions and started every game.

» READ MORE: What aided Eagles rookie Quinyon Mitchell in becoming a Super Bowl champion? Fruit farming.

But you also could argue that Mitchell was the second-best defender on the No. 1 overall defense, the No. 1 pass defense, and the No. 2 defense in points allowed. Second-year pass rushers Jalen Carter (the best defender) and Smith are talented, but Allen played with Reggie White, the best there ever was, as well as Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, and Seth Joyner, who were nearing the heights of their powers. Allen also played when defensive backs could be more physical.

Mitchell ranked sixth in coverage and seventh in overall defense among corners with at least 700 snaps, including the playoffs, according to Pro Football Focus. Again, this is amazing, since he didn’t have an interception in the regular season and interceptions skew the numbers.

But here’s the stat that really resonates: He ranked No. 3 among every-down corners in passer rating against, at 74.4. That was among corners who played 80% of 784 passing-play snaps (the league high).

Among corners who played 50%, the news gets even better for the Birds.

When a second-round pick becomes a starter as a rookie, it’s always an overachievement.

What argues against DeJean being No. 1 on this list is that he played little on defense in the first four games. He also ranks far behind Mitchell in passer rating against, at 19th — still outstanding, but this emphasizes Mitchell’s unfathomable season. Finally, DeJean was projected as a first-rounder, and he played like one. Playing well should not be amplified because most of the NFL stinks at drafting.

There are plenty of arguments for DeJean being No. 1. First, he switched from outside corner, where he played in college, to nickel. Second, when you use the 50% classification, DeJean ranks third in the NFL in coverage, according to PFF. Third, DeJean also returned punts, which meant extra duty. Finally, he had a knack for big plays against the biggest of players.

He dropped Ravens running back Derrick Henry in Game 12.

He then had a pick-six in the Super Bowl … against Patrick Freaking Mahomes.

He made a lot of plays and he almost never came off the field, a surprising development since Baun had played just 660 defensive snaps in his first four seasons with the Saints. There, he was a special-teams standout and situational pass rusher. Baun ranks third here because, unlike Mitchell and DeJean, he at least understood what it was to be an NFL player. With rookies, you never know if they’re going to run home to mama the first time they get smacked in the face.

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With Nakobe Dean on the roster and with Devin White signed to start, the Eagles hoped that Baun would be a viable backup. No one expected a $3.75 million backup to force five fumbles, pick off a pass in the Super Bowl, and become an All-Pro.

When you replace a legend, all you hope for is proficiency. Jurgens was far more than proficient. In 2023, Jurgens was a mediocre right guard as a second-year player who struggled as a pass blocker. A year later, he’s a top-10, Pro Bowl center. The legend Jurgens replaced, Jason Kelce, also needed three seasons in the NFL to become elite. (Kelce missed most of his second NFL season with an injury.) Jurgens is following Kelce’s Hall of Fame trajectory.

After recording one sack as a rookie first-rounder playing on an exceptionally talented defensive line, the Eagles thought so much of Smith that they signed pass-rush specialist Bryce Huff to a $51 million contract — which is to say, they didn’t think Smith would be quite what he’s become.

Smith finished with six sacks in 16 regular-season games and led the NFL with four more sacks in the playoffs. Those stats don’t effectively reflect the havoc he wreaked from Game 11 through the Super Bowl, with eight sacks and 26 hurries.

Why is he ranked so low? Because Smith was a first-round pick in his second season playing the same position. As good as he was in 2024, he didn’t face as many challenges as Mitchell, DeJean, and Jurgens.

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In what universe is the best season by a running back in NFL history not the biggest overachievement? In a universe in which he has five teammates like the ones we’ve mentioned.

His sixth-place ranking underscores the mind-boggling overachievement of the Eagles’ roster. Consider that Barkley became the ninth player with 2,000 rushing yards in a single season; gained 2,005 yards, which ranks eighth; and set the NFL record for rushing yards, including playoffs, with 2,504. Those accomplishments are the sixth-most unexpected for the 2024 Eagles.

Why? Because Barkley was already a star. He had twice gained more than 1,300 rushing yards behind lousy offensive lines with the Giants. At 28, he is in his prime. And he could very well do it again.

Carter was the team’s best defender and its second-best player, but he had shown flashes of dominance as a rookie defensive tackle. He also was considered a top-five pick in the 2023 draft, before conditioning and character concerns surfaced in predraft evaluations and dropped him to No. 9, where the Eagles traded up to get him.

Yes, he played a whopping 84% of the snaps, he had 12 tackles for loss, and he sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to cement the Eagles’ win in the divisional playoff round, but Carter is expected to be a generational player. In 2024, he played to his pedigree.

Finally, I remain unsold on Mekhi Becton overachieving. After all, he’s a fifth-year first-round pick who was supposed to be able to play tackle. He landed in Philadelphia with conditioning and commitment issues. Good for him, but, for the moment, he’s a late bloomer who became a competent guard when he played between two Pro Bowl linemen.