The Eagles' 10 biggest surprises of 2022

We knew A.J. Brown was one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. We knew Haason Reddick was an elite edge rusher. We knew Jason Kelce was headed to yet another Pro Bowl.

Then there are the surprises.

With the regular-season finale against the Giants coming up Sunday, we’ve put together a list of the 10 biggest surprises this year, and they range from former Pro Bowlers down to undrafted rookies.

Reed Blankenship: He didn’t get on the field until Week 12, when Chauncey Gardner-Johnson got hurt. But in his 246 snaps over five games, the unheralded, undrafted rookie safety did enough positive things to open up a lot of eyes. Blankenship is the first undrafted rookie defensive back to start four or more games for the Eagles since Brenard Wilson in 1979. With Marcus Epps and Gardner-Johnson both unsigned beyond this year, Blankenship at the least worked his way into the safety conversation for 2023 with his solid, physical play. Once Jalen Hurts gets his new contract, the Eagles are going to need as many inexpensive, cost-controlled players as possible, and the early returns on Blankenship are very encouraging.

Fletcher Cox: He’s not the player he once was, but Cox has enjoyed a big-time bounce-back season in Year 11. Cox, a six-time Pro Bowler, doesn’t have to be The Guy anymore because the Eagles are so deep along the interior defensive line. But he’s been a solid piece of the rotation despite playing his fewest snaps since his rookie year. Cox has seven sacks after recording 13.5 the last three years combined, and he’s been active in run defense. The seven sacks are third-most in his career.

Britain Covey: The surprise is that Covey, who looked overmatched the first half of the season, has overcome a sluggish start to become a legit punt returner. Seven games into the season, the 25-year-old undrafted rookie from Utah was averaging 6.5 yards per return, which ranked 24th out of 27 qualifying returners. In nine games since, he’s fifth out of 29 returners with an 11.6 average, just ahead of former Eagle DeAndre Carter of the Chargers. His overall 9.0 average is fourth-highest ever by an Eagles rookie.

T.J. Edwards: The undrafted linebacker out of Wisconsin improved dramatically in every area this year, and in his fourth season is the NFL’s second-ranked linebacker overall according to Pro Football Focus, behind only Rams veteran Bobby Wagner, the long-time Seahawk. He’s always been a sure tackler, but he’s really made himself an excellent coverage linebacker as well and an effective blitzer. Edwards is unsigned beyond this year and bringing him back will be one of Howie Roseman’s biggest offseason priorities.

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson: It’s a shame he got hurt, because Gardner-Johnson was having a monster year and his big play after big play had a lot to do with the Eagles racing out to a 10-1 start. What’s surprising isn’t that he played well. Gardner-Johnson has always been a solid defensive back, whether he’s been in the slot or safety. But he was never a ballhawk. He had five interceptions in 46 games his first three seasons but despite missing the last five games, he’s still tied for the NFL interception lead with six – matching the most by an Eagles safety since Terry Hoage had eight in 1988.

Brandon Graham: For a 34-year-old in his 13th season coming off a blown Achilles, B.G.’s play has been remarkable. He’s got a career-high 11 sacks and this year became the second-oldest player in NFL history to record his first double-digit sack season. His 11 sacks are sixth-most among all NFL edge rushers and tied for fourth-most in the NFC, behind only Reddick, Nick Bosa and Brian Burns. The addition of Reddick has allowed Graham to play reduced snaps – just 27 per game – and he’s making the most out of them. It was widely assumed this would be Graham’s final season, but the way he’s playing makes the thought of bringing him back for a 14th season an attractive one if the money makes sense.

Jalen Hurts: Even the most optimistic projections for Hurts’ season didn’t see this coming. Hurts is having one of the greatest seasons ever by an Eagles quarterback, and he’s worked himself into the MVP race with remarkable production as a passer and a runner. Despite missing the last two games, his 35 total touchdowns (22 passing, 13 rushing) are still fourth-most in the NFL (behind Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen) and five more than any other NFC QB. One more breaks the franchise record he shares with Randall Cunningham, who had 35 in 1990.

Miles Sanders: The production isn’t what’s been surprising. Sanders has always been a very good back when healthy. What’s surprising about Sanders’ fourth NFL season is that he has stayed healthy. Sanders was constantly banged up the last two years, and there were very real questions about his ability to get through a season without missing significant playing time. But Sanders has been both terrific and durable. He’s fifth in the NFL with 1,236 rushing yards, fourth with a 5.0 average, seventh with 11 touchdowns and seventh with 15.5 carries per game. And hasn’t missed a single snap all year because of injury.

Josh Sweat: Sweat had shown hints of becoming a high-caliber edge rusher, but in Year 4, he took his game to another level. Sweat’s career-high 11 sacks tie him with Graham for sixth-most among NFL edge rushers. The Eagles haven’t developed many of their own edge rushers over the years. Graham made a Pro Bowl in 2000 in his 11th season, but the 24-year-old Sweat is the Eagles’ first homegrown edge rusher to make a Pro Bowl before his 25th birthday since Tim Rossovich in 1969. He’s ranked ninth among all edge rushers by Pro Football Focus – a big jump from No. 28 last year.

Milton Williams: Despite playing on a loaded defensive line and seeing his snaps reduced from 27 per game as a rookie to 23 this year, the Eagles’ 23-year-old interior lineman has shown big-time improvement in Year 2. His four sacks are twice his rookie total and he’s one of only 12 defensive tackles in the NFL with four sacks, eight tackles for loss and six QB hits. He’s also the youngest interior lineman with those numbers and the only one who’s not a starter. The Eagles have a lot of question marks along the interior defensive line – Cox, Javon Hargrave, Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh are all unsigned beyond this year. But Williams should be a fixture along the interior of the defensive line along with Jordan Davis for years.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-10-biggest-surprises-2022-season