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The folks at The MMQB recently put together an interesting activity dubbed “The MMQB NFL All-Time Draft.” Here’s an overview of what the project entailed:
The MMQB All-Time NFL Draft took place on May 24 in the offices of Sports Illustrated and via conference call among the 12 GMs. Draft order was chosen out of a hat beforehand, and the process was like a normal draft, selections going one through 12 for each round (rather than snaking like a fantasy draft). There were several surprise picks (thanks, Dan Fouts!) that elicited oohs and aahhs, and other surprising omissions that only became apparent after the draft wrapped up. All in all, a good time was had. Said All-Time Draft GM and football historian John Turney afterward, “It was an honor to be involved on a project with such a distinguished group of men, Hall of Famers and Hall of Fame writers. I felt like a kid who got to move from the kid’s table at Thanksgiving dinner.”
Tl;dr - A bunch of notable NFL writers, former executives, former players, etc. associated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame held a draft to determine the best players of all time while also building realistic rosters.
A total of 20 players who played for the Eagles at one point in their career made the list of 300 players who were selected. Some of the players only played for Philadelphia very briefly, but I included them in the list at the bottom of this post anyway.
Before we get to the list, some quick thoughts:
- Brian Dawkins is way too low on this list. He was the 18th safety drafted. Such bullshit. The lack of respect for Dawk is dumb.
- No surprise to see Reggie near the top.
- I always kinda forget Ditka was an Eagle at one point.
- Darren Sproles is the only active Eagles player on this list.
- RIP Jerome Brown.
- The Eagles weren’t represented in the head coach round.
- Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Tommy McDonald, Randall Cunningham are among notable Eagles names absent on this list.
Round 1, Pick 7 - DE Reggie White
Philadelphia Eagles, 1985–92
Green Bay Packers, 1993–99
Carolina Panthers, 2000
Round 7, Pick 81 - C/LB Chuck Bednarik
Philadelphia Eagles, 1949–62
Round 7, Pick 82 - TE Mike Ditka
Chicago Bears, 1961–66
Philadelphia Eagles, 1967–68
Dallas Cowboys, 1969–72
Round 7, Pick 83 - OT Bob Brown
Philadelphia Eagles, 1964–68
Los Angeles Rams, 1969–70
Oakland Raiders, 1971–73
Round 8, Pick 94 - DE Richard Dent
Chicago Bears, 1983–93, 95
San Francisco 49ers, 1994
Indianapolis Colts, 1996
Philadelphia Eagles, 1997
Round 8, Pick 95 - C Jim Ringo
Green Bay Packers, 1953–63
Philadelphia Eagles, 1964–67
Round 11, Pick 126 - OT Rayfield Wright
Dallas Cowboys, 1967–79
Philadelphia Eagles, 1980
Round 12, Pick 143 - WR Art Monk
Washington Redskins, 1980–93
New York Jets, 1994
Philadelphia Eagles, 1995
Round 14, Pick 167 - DE Jerome Brown
Philadelphia Eagles, 1987–91
Round 14, Pick 168 - OT Al Wistert
Philadelphia Eagles, 1943–51
Round 16, Pick 191 - DE Claude Humphrey
Atlanta Falcons, 1968–78
Philadelphia Eagles, 1979–81
Round 16, Pick 192 - LB Maxie Baughan
Philadelphia Eagles, 1960–65
Los Angeles Rams, 1966–70
Washington Redskins, 1974
Round 19, Pick 222 - WR Terrell Owens
San Francisco 49ers, 1996–2003
Philadelphia Eagles, 2004–5
Dallas Cowboys, 2006–8
Buffalo Bills, 2009
Cincinnati Bengals, 2010
Round 21, Pick 249 - S Brian Dawkins
Philadelphia Eagles, 1996–2008
Denver Broncos, 2009–11
Round 22, Pick 262 - WR Cris Carter
Philadelphia Eagles, 1987–89
Minnesota Vikings, 1990–2001
Miami Dolphins, 2002
Round 22, Pick 264 - K Gary Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1982–94
Philadelphia Eagles, 1995–96
San Francisco 49ers, 1997
Minnesota Vikings, 1998–2002
Tennessee Titans, 2003–4
Round 24, Pick 283 - WR James Lofton
Green Bay Packers, 1978–86
Los Angeles Raiders, 1987–88
Buffalo Bills, 1989–92
Los Angeles Rams, 1993
Philadelphia Eagles, 1993
Round 25, Pick 296 - P Sean Landeta
New York Giants, 1985–93
Los Angeles Rams, 1993–94
St. Louis Rams, 1995–96
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1997
Green Bay Packers, 1998
Philadelphia Eagles, 1999–2002, 2005
St. Louis Rams, 2003–4
Round 25, Pick 297 - RB/KR Darren Sproles
San Diego Chargers, 2005–10
New Orleans Saints, 2011–13
Philadelphia Eagles, 2014–
Round 25, Pick 300 - RB Steve Van Buren
Philadelphia Eagles, 1944–51
To see the full draft, the individual teams, and the matchups, click here.