Over the next few weeks leading up to training camp, we’ll be counting down the top 25 most important Eagles for the 2022 season.
25. Quez Watkins
24. Gardner Minshew
23. T.J. Edwards
22. Marcus Epps
21. Landon Dickerson
20. Jake Elliott
19. Brandon Graham
18. Jordan Davis
17. Kyzir White
16. Avonte Maddox
15. Nakobe Dean
14. Fletcher Cox
13. James Bradberry
12. Miles Sanders
11. Josh Sweat
10. DeVonta Smith
9. Dallas Goedert
8. Javon Hargrave
7. Jordan Mailata
6. Darius Slay
5. Lane Johnson
4. A.J. Brown
3. Jason Kelce
Jason Kelce is 34 now, entering his 12th NFL season and the Eagles just used a second-round pick to draft his replacement. But this isn’t a push-him-out-the-door scenario. As long as Kelce wants to keep playing and as long as he’s one of the best centers in the NFL, he has a job with the Eagles.
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But it’s very possible 2022 will be his final season in the NFL.
It feels weird to even think about the Eagles beginning a season without their All-Pro center but that’s the reality the Eagles are facing in the not-so-distant future. In the present, Kelce is still one of the best and most important players on the roster.
In 2021, Kelce started all 17 games, including the meaningless regular season finale. He played just the first snap in that game to extend his consecutive starts streak to 122 regular season games. It’s the longest streak by an NFL center since Chris Myers started 123 from 2007-14 so Kelce will pass him soon. And Kelce’s 122 games is the fifth-longest streak in Eagles history:
Jon Runyan (2000-08): 144
NFL
Herm Edwards (1977-85: 135
Jerry Sisemore (1974-82): 127
Randy Logan (1973-81): 124
Jason Kelce (2014-21): 122
So if Kelce is able to — knock on wood — start every game this season, he’d be in second place on the Eagles’ all-time list. Of course, this streak wouldn’t mean anything if Kelce wasn’t a great player and he absolutely is. Since this streak started, Kelce has made all five of his career Pro Bowls and all four of his career first-team All-Pro nods.
Last season was just the second in his career when he was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in the same year. He’s had seven combined seasons with at least one of those honors. And because he plays a position without individual statistics, those accolades will go a long way to solidifying his Hall of Fame resume.
But there’s time for that down the road. In 2022, Kelce is still the Eagles’ starting center and the engine to what many consider the best offensive line in football.
You can argue that Kelce is less important this season because of the addition of Cam Jurgens, whom the Eagles drafted with the 51st overall pick. Jurgens figures to be an upgrade over Nate Herbig at the backup center position and would presumably shorten up the drop-off from C1 to C2. But Kelce, in addition to playing the role of starting center, will also be tasked with helping to mentor his young understudy and prepare him for the day he takes over.
As the Eagles gear up for a season with playoff expectations, a lot of their success will be dependent on the play of quarterback Jalen Hurts. The relationship between quarterback and center is an important one. Kelce’s presence gives Hurts the best chance of succeeding.
And aside from his play and his role helping Hurts, it’s hard to quantify what Kelce means to the Eagles. But last December, running back Boston Scott summed it up pretty well.
Scott watched Kelce fight through an injury — one of many he’s played through over the years — to return to a game against the Giants. He became emotional as he talked about Kelce.
"He’s the embodiment of this team," Scott said in December. "He’s the embodiment, in my opinion, of Philadelphia. Just gritty, nasty, you know what I’m saying? You might knock him down, but he’s going to get right back up.
"It really hurts me because guys like that have been in the league for such a long time. You don’t know how many years they have left."
There’s a reason Nick Sirianni sent Kelce a keg of beer, encouraging the 34-year-old to come back for one more season. If that’s the trick, keep them coming.
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