Greatest Philadelphia Eagles of All Time
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The Philadelphia Eagles opened up shop in 1933 and are approaching 100 years in the NFL. Over this time, they have become not only one of the NFL's signature teams but one of the most recognizable franchises in all of North American professional sports.
The Eagles have never been more popular than they are today. They are in the midst of a golden era of football, winning their first Super Bowl after the 2017 season and playing for another Super Bowl in 2023.
The franchise's greatness didn't just start in the last decade, however. It's a tradition that dates back to NFL championships in the 1940s through Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s and 2010s. These are the 10 greatest Philadelphia Eagles of all time.
10. Harold Carmichael
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Position: Wide receiver
Career: 14 seasons (1971-84)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1971-83), Dallas Cowboys (1984)
Career highlights: Two-time NFL All-Pro (1973, 1979), four-time Pro Bowl (1973, 1978-80), NFL Man of the Year (1980), NFL 1970s All-Decade team, Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Bottom line: Even the modern NFL with all its varied offenses wouldn't know what to do with Philadelphia Eagles legend Harold Carmichael, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound wide receiver who dominated secondaries in the 1970s.
Carmichael was a star at Southern alongside fellow future Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount before playing for the Eagles for 13 seasons, where he was a two-time NFL All-Pro, four-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL in receiving yards and receptions in 1973.
9. Jason Peters
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Position: Offensive tackle
Career: 19 seasons (2004-present)
Teams: Buffalo Bills (2004-08), Philadelphia Eagles (2009-20), Chicago Bears (2021), Dallas Cowboys (2022-present)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2017), six-time NFL All-Pro (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014), nine-time Pro Bowl (2007-11, 2013-16), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
Bottom line: Jason Peters was an All-SEC tight end at the University of Arkansas. He caught the eye of NFL scouts in his final year of college by catching 21 passes and registering 61 knockdown blocks.
Peters then embarked on one of the greatest careers for an undrafted player in NFL history, making six NFL All-Pro Teams over the last 19 years in the NFL, nine Pro Bowls and earning a place on the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team.
8. Fletcher Cox
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Position: Defensive tackle
Career: 11 seasons (2012-present)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2017), four-time NFL All-Pro (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018), six-time Pro Bowl (2015-20), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, PFWA All-Rookie Team (2012)
Bottom line: The Philadelphia Eagles selected Fletcher Cox No.12 overall in the 2012 NFL draft after an All-American season at Mississippi State. He made the first of four NFL All-Pro Teams in 2014 and the first of six consecutive Pro Bowls in 2015.
Cox was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team after he helped lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win following the 2017 season and back to the Super Bowl again following the 2022 season.
7. Jerome Brown
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Position: Defensive tackle
Career: 5 seasons (1987-91)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights: Two-time NFL All-Pro (1990, 1991), two-time Pro Bowl (1990, 1991), PFWA All-Rookie Team (1987), Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Bottom line: Jerome Brown was a bad, bad man on a football field, winning a national championship at Miami in 1983 and earning All-American honors in 1986 before he was selected No. 9 overall in the 1987 NFL draft.
Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan once said, "If you had 45 Jerome Browns, you would win every game." And in his first five NFL seasons, Brown made two Pro Bowls and two NFL All-Pro Teams in 1990 and 1991.
Following the 1991 NFL season, Brown and his 12-year-old nephew were killed in a car accident in his hometown of Brooksville, Florida, and his No. 99 was retired the following season. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2018 — what would have been Brown's 53rd birthday.
6. Steve Van Buren
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Position: Halfback
Career: 8 seasons (1944-51)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights: Two-time NFL champion (1948, 1949), seven-time NFL All-Pro (1944-50), NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, NFL 75th Anniversary Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Bottom line: The stats don't lie for Philadelphia Eagles halfback Steve Van Buren, who made seven NFL All-Pro Teams in just eight seasons — including two years where he led the Eagles to the NFL championship.
Van Buren's background is the stuff movies are made of. He was born in Honduras but orphaned by 10 years old in New Orleans and dropped out of high school before returning two years later and earning a football scholarship to LSU.
With the Eagles, Van Buren was an offensive juggernaut, leading the NFL in rushing yards four times and rushing touchdowns four times.
Van Buren died in 2012, at 91 years old.
5. Donovan McNabb
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Position: Quarterback
Career: 13 seasons (1999-2011)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2009), Washington Redskins (2010), Minnesota Vikings (2011)
Career highlights: Six-time Pro Bowl (2000-04, 2009), Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Bottom line: It's not fair that Donovan McNabb's career was overshadowed by his terrible performance against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl Super Bowl XXXIX, when he threw three interceptions in Patriots territory.
McNabb was a six-time Pro Bowler and just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30,000 yards, 300 touchdown passes, 3,00 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in his career alongside Frank Tarkenton, John Elway and Steve Young.
McNabb's reputation has taken even more hits following his playing career with multiple DUI arrests and his termination from ESPN after he was accused of sexual harassment in 2017.
4. Jason Kelce
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Position: Center
Career: 12 seasons (2011-present)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2017), five-time NFL All-Pro (2017-19, 2021, 2022), six-time Pro Bowl (2014, 2016, 2019-22)
Bottom line: Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce seems like he's already crafted a Hall of Fame career and will likely be in Canton alongside younger brother and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce one day. The two are the first brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl in 2023.
Jason Kelce walked on at the University of Cincinnati as a running back before moving to the offensive line. He was a two-time All-Big East pick, and the Eagles selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.
Kelce made his first NFL All-Pro Team in 2017 as the Eagles won the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history — the first of five All-Pro selections.
3. Brian Dawkins
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Position: Safety
Career: 16 seasons (1996-2011)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1996-2008), Denver Broncos (2009-11)
Career highlights: Five-time NFL All-Pro (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009), nine-time Pro Bowl (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004-06, 2008, 2009, 2011) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Bottom line: Brian Dawkins was one of the greatest safeties in NFL history — nicknamed "Weapon X" because of his similarities to the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. Dawkins was also known throughout his career as being a great teammate and mentor to younger players.
Dawkins was selected in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft out of Clemson and would make nine Pro Bowls and five NFL All-Pro Teams in his career and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2018.
Read: Greatest Defensive Backs in NFL History
2. Chuck Bednarik
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Position: Linebacker
Career: 14 seasons (1949-62)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles
Career highlights: Two-time NFL champion (1949, 1960), eight-time Pro Bowl (1950-54, 1956, 1957, 1960), 10-time All-Pro (1950-57, 1960, 1961), NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Bottom line: Bednarik was the last full-time two player in NFL history — a dominant offensive lineman and linebacker who led the Philadelphia Eagles to NFL championships in 1949 and 1960.
The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, native and University of Pennsylvania product was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1949 NFL draft and is still regarded as one of the most vicious tacklers in NFL history. His tackle of New York Giants running back Frank Gifford sidelined Gifford for two years.
Bednarik died in 2015 at 89 years old.
Read: Greatest Linebackers in NFL History
1. Reggie White
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Position: Defensive end
Career: 15 seasons (1985-98, 2000)
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1985-92), Green Bay Packers (1993-98), Carolina Panthers (2000)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1996), two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1987, 1998), 13-time NFL All-Pro (1986-98), 13-time Pro Bowl (1986-98), three-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year (1987, 1991, 1995), NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Bottom line: Reggie White was a combination of power and athleticism at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds that the NFL had never seen before when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1985 following two seasons in the USFL.
White spent the next 15 seasons carving up offensive linemen and was the leader of Philly's "Gang Green" defense in the late 1980s and early 1990s under head coach Buddy Ryan. White was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice, with the Eagles in 1987 and the Green Bay Packers in 1998, and led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship in 1996. Now 23 years after he last played a game in the NFL, White is still No. 2 on the NFL's career sacks list with 198.
White died of a combination of cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac and pulmonary sarcoidosis and sleep apnea in 2004, when he was just 43 years old.
Read: Greatest Pass Rushers in NFL History