6 players who made themselves into all-time Eagles legends this season

Not all legends are created equally. Brian Dawkins, Reggie White, and DeSean Jackson are legends without ever winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, and they all earned their status for incredibly different reasons. Nick Foles, Zach Ertz, and Fletcher Cox are all legends because of what they did to win a Super Bowl in 2017.

Now that the Eagles have won another Super Bowl, there’s a whole new crop of Super Bowl-caliber Eagles legends.

Winning a Super Bowl is a really good way to be remembered

Saying, ‘I remember back in 2024 when Player X did ___’ doesn’t mean a player is a legend. Were they very good? Probably. A legend? Not necessarily. However, saying, ‘The Eagles won the Super Bowl because Player X did ___’ is different.

For example: Do you remember when Quiyon Mitchell shut down like 12 consecutive WR1s? That was awesome, but you wouldn’t say he’s a legend yet. 

On the other hand, Brandon Graham made the most important play in franchise history when he strip-sacked Tom Brady with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII. That’s a legendary thing to do. You get the difference. 

Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts is the first Eagles starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and he did it with swagger. There were only a handful of games this season where he used his arm with lethal efficiency, but he did it in the most important game of the season, and he became the Super Bowl MVP because of it. 

You will always remember Jalen Hurts’ 44-yard touchdown run in the Divisional game against the Rams. You will always remember his 46-yard dagger to DeVonta Smith in the Super Bowl to go from a 27-point lead to a 34-point lead.

Jalen led the Eagles from a team that collapsed horribly to a team that won a Super Bowl. Nothing much more can be said that you don’t already know. He’s the best.

Saquon Barkley

2,005 rushing yards in the regular season (franchise record). 499 rushing yards in the postseason. 2,504 rushing yards total (NFL record). 13 rushing touchdowns in the regular season. Five rushing touchdowns in the postseason. Seven rushing touchdowns that were 60+ yards. NFL Offensive Player of the Year (first in franchise history).

Not only is Saquon Barkley an Eagles legend, but this season has put him on track to be an NFL Hall of Famer. He had the best season a running back has ever had, and he deserves every single one of the accolades he’s received. He’s the best.

Zack Baun

If Zack Baun doesn’t re-sign with the Eagles in free agency, he’ll be the best one-year signing the Eagles have ever had, and he’d be up there for the best one-year signing in NFL history.

He was signed to be a rotational edge rusher and special teams player, but he became the first-team All-Pro linebacker, and he was only paid $1.2 million. 

He finished the season with 182 tackles, 3.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, seven passes defended, and three interceptions.

He was a force from the get-go when he had 15 tackles and two sacks in Week 1. He kept that going throughout the entire season and ended up picking off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. It was unbelievably surprising and delightfully improbable. He’s the best.

Cooper DeJean

The defense turned the season around after the bye week in Week 5. Maybe that was because they got through the acclimation period of Vic Fangio’s defense, or maybe that was because Cooper DeJean took over as the starting nickel cornerback. In reality, it was definitely both.

That being said, DeJean came in and set the world on fire. His first huge play was in Week 8 in Cincinnati. There were 45 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Bengals had a fourth-and-one on their own 39-yard line. Ja’Marr Chase went in motion from right to left, got behind the center and went left to right, and then went right to left one more time. DeJean never lost track of Chase and stayed with him the whole time.

Joe Burrow threw the ball to Chase behind the line of scrimmage, but before he could turn upfield, DeJean hammered him for a loss and a turnover on downs. It was amazing.

Then, in Week 13, he hit a perfect double-leg takedown on Derrick Henry in open space. That was amazing.

THEN, in the Super Bowl, he intercepted Patrick Mahomes and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead.

When you get game-changing turnovers in the Super Bowl, you become a legend. He’s only a rookie, but no matter what happens in Dejean's career, you will always say, ‘Yeah, but he got a pick-six off Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead.”

By the way, he scored more touchdowns this season than he gave up. He’s the best.

The entire offensive line

The Eagles' offensive line being elite is nothing new, but this year, it was different because there was no Jason Kelce. He had been the constant piece in that unit over the past decade, and without him, we didn’t know if the big guys were going to be the annual top-three line they had been or if they’d just be a top-ten line. It turns out that they were still the best. 

An offensive line, as a whole, becomes legendary when they lead the way for a running back to rush for over 2,000 yards. 

The Eagles decided to become a run-first team this season, and they knew they could do it because the meat up front was going to be able to hold up their end of the bargain. 

When you look back on this season in 20 years, you’ll remember the year Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, and Lane Johnson bullied defenses so Saquon Barkley could be historic. They’re the best.

Jalen Carter

Jalen Carter had his ‘coming out’ season. He demanded so much attention on every single snap of every single game and cemented himself as a game-wrecker, but that’s not why he became a legend.

It’s because he made the most important play of the season of anyone on the entire roster.

In the Divisional game against the Rams, Matt Stafford and his gang were cruising down the field with less than two minutes left in the game. If they scored, the Eagles' season would end.

On a third-and-two from the Eagles’ 13-yard line, Jalen Carter punked Beaux Limmer and Kevin Dotson to get a nine-yard sack on Stafford. The Rams had one more shot after that, and Carter hit the same move on Limmer to pressure Stafford and make him throw a bad ball. Both of those plays were massive, but the sack was the single most important play of the Eagles' entire season. 

It was only his second season in the NFL, and he was able to do things that only two or three defensive tackles can do. He’s already at the top, and he’s only going to get better. He’s the best.