5 Eagles heading into 2023 poised for Pro Bowl jump

In the longest hallway of the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles honor every member of the team who has ever made a Pro Bowl.

There could be a few new additions again in 2023.

Last year, the Eagles had eight players named to the Pro Bowl: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Miles Sanders, Haason Reddick, Darius Slay. Of those eight, four were first-timers: Hurts, Dickerson, Sanders and Reddick.

Here are some other candidates, listed from most to least likely, to make the jump and make their first Pro Bowl roster in 2023:

1. Dallas Goedert

Dallas Goedert was well on his way to a Pro Bowl nod during the 2022 season but he suffered a shoulder injury in November that kept him out for five games. If he hadn’t gotten injured, it seems very likely Goedert would have been given that honor last season.

In 12 games, Goedert caught 55 passes for 702 yards and 3 touchdowns. Luckily, Goedert was able to return for the end of the season and the playoffs. In Super Bowl LVII, Goedert caught 6 passes for 60 yards. Based on his 12 games, Goedert was on pace for 78 catches for 995 yards in the regular season had he stayed healthy. 

In the NFC last year, the two Pro Bowl tight ends were George Kittle from the 49ers and T.J. Hockenson, who split his season with the Lions and the Vikings. Here’s a look at their stats from 2022:

George Kittle: 15 games, 60 catches, 765 yards, 11 touchdowns

T.J. Hockenson: 17 games, 86 catches, 914 yards, 6 touchdowns

Goedert is already one of the best tight ends in the NFL. In any discussion that involves Travis Kelce, Kittle and Mark Andrews, Goedert’s name should be included.

ProFootballFocus last season ranked Goedert as the fourth-best tight end in the NFL last season behind just Kelce, Kittle and Andrews. And Football Outsiders ranked Goedert second to Kelce in overall value. Goedert is right there in the mix as one of the top tight ends in the NFL.

It’s hard to believe that Goedert is already 28 and going into his sixth NFL season. It’s almost as hard to be live that he hasn’t made a Pro Bowl yet. Ever since entering the NFL in 2018, Goedert has been very confident. Maybe this is the year he stays healthy and earns some the accolades that have eluded him.

2. Jordan Mailata

Even though he’s an established starting left tackle with a big contract extension already out of the way, Jordan Mailata is still just 26. And even though he’s played at a high level in his two years as a full-time starter, there’s still more room for growth, especially because of how relatively new he is to football.

In 2022, Mailata played and started 16 of 17 games in the regular season and all three games in the playoffs. But he wasn’t completely healthy during last season and a shoulder injury earlier in the season seemed to hamper him. Despite that, Mailata was still pretty good. ProFootballFocus graded him as the 9th best offensive tackle in the NFL. If you’re wondering, Lane Johnson was 5th on that list and he’s widely considered the best right tackle in the NFL.

But it’s also probably fair to say that Mailata was better in 2021 than he was in 2022. In 2021, he had a legitimate gripe as a Pro Bowl snub. Here’s a look at Mailata’s pass blocking stats, via PFF, from 2021 and 2022:

2021: 461 pass block snaps, 3 sacks, 16 hurries, 20 pressures

2022: 588 pass block snaps, 6 sacks, 31 hurries, 38 pressures

The NFC Pro Bowl tackles last season were Johnson, Trent Williams, Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell, who replaced Johnson. (None of the Eagles participated last year because they were in the Super Bowl.)

The Eagles lost Isaac Seumalo in free agency but still bring back four of their five starters on the offensive line in 2023 and should have a really good unit. Mailata’s linemate Landon Dickerson got his first Pro Bowl nod last season and there’s a good shot Mailata could join him this year.

3. DeVonta Smith

In his second NFL season, DeVonta Smith put together a really impressive season. He had 95 catches (an Eagles WR record) for 1,196 yards and 7 touchdowns. Smith was 11th in the NFL in catches and 9th in the NFL in yards. This offseason, Smith said he considers himself to be a top 10 receiver in the league and he probably is … although he’d be toward the bottom of that top 10 list.

There are plenty of reasons to think Smith will continue to climb in 2023. If he improves as much from Year 2 to Year 3 as he did from Year 1 to Year 2, then he’ll have a really good shot to make the Pro Bowl this season.

Of course, there are a few things working against Smith. One is that he plays on a team with A.J. Brown, who was tremendous last season and was a Pro Bowler in 2022. Here’s a look at the NFC Pro Bowl receivers and Smith from 2022

DeVonta Smith: 95 catches, 1,196 yards, 7 touchdowns
Justin Jefferson: 128 catches, 1,809 yards, 8 touchdowns
A.J. Brown: 88 catches, 1,496 yards, 11 touchdowns
CeeDee Lamb: 107 catches, 1,359 yards, 9 touchdowns
Terry McLaurin: 77 catches, 1,191 yards, 5 touchdowns
Amon-Ra St. Brown (replacement): 106 catches, 1,161 yards, 6 touchdowns

You could argue that Smith was already a Pro Bowl snub last season. No reason to think he won’t have a good shot at making it in 2023.

4. Jalen Carter

There aren’t a ton of good first-time Pro Bowl candidates on the defensive side of the football this year. Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat Darius Slay and James Bradberry have already all been Pro Bowlers. 

Maybe Nakobe Dean has a shot, maybe one of the safeties ends up having a big season. But the best chance for a first-time Pro Bowler on the defensive side of the ball probably goes to one of the first-round Georgia defensive linemen. Nolan Smith is buried a bit at edge rusher and Jordan Davis, even if he plays well, isn’t going to pile up big numbers. That leaves Carter, who will come in and replace former Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave, who left for San Francisco in free agency.

Of course, there are never any guarantees with rookies in the NFL. But Carter was considered by many draft pundits to be one of the best overall players in the 2023 class. If he plays like the guy we saw at Georgia, he could be extremely good early in his NFL career.

5. D’Andre Swift

The Eagles let Miles Sanders walk in the offseason after huge season. Sanders had over 1,200 yards rushing and scored 11 touchdowns in 2022. While the Eagles are likely to implement a running-back-by-committee approach in 2023, someone is eventually going to get the ball more than the other backs. And the most likely guy is Swift.

The Eagles traded for Swift during the draft and there’s plenty to like about the 24-year-old former second-round pick. Swift’s best season came in 2021, when he had 1,069 scrimmage yards in Detroit. Maybe it’s foolish to think that Swift will come home to Philadelphia and suddenly turn into a superstar. But he will be on a high-powered offense that sent a running back to the Pro Bowl a year ago.

The key here for Swift might be his ability as a receiver. He has caught 156 passes in his first three NFL seasons but the Eagles haven’t thrown to the backs a ton during Nick Sirianni’s time as the head coach. Perhaps some of that is because a lot of those dump-offs to running backs end up being Hurts runs in Philly. But if the Eagles are able to unlock that part of their offense, they’re likely to do it with Swift. Maybe he’ll have that breakout season in 2023.

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