Weekend Reading: Where Fletcher Cox Ranks

Here are some Eagles-related links to check out this weekend.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has Fletcher Cox as his No. 55 overall player:

It’s a shame he didn’t go to the Pro Bowl last season. He was hurt by his lack of sacks with just four, but he is much more of a presence each week than that number. He dominated games at times.

It’s worth noting that Prisco has DeMarco Murray ranked 41st and LeSean McCoy ranked 89th.

A note on the Eagles-Cowboys Thanksgiving game from last year:

Eagles-Cowboys on Thanksgiving was the most-watched TV program of 2014 with 32 million viewers. Pats-Packers was second at 30.9 million

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) June 6, 2015

Adam Caplan of ESPN has an undrafted free agent to watch:

#Eagles UDFA G/T Brett Boyko could seriously push for roster spot. Eagles gave him $20 K fully guaranteed ($10K SB, $10K fully gtd base). — Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) June 5, 2015

Patrick Wall of Bleeding Green Nation examines each of the Eagles 2016 free agents, including Mychal Kendricks:

When the Eagles traded for Kiko Alonso in the offseason, it was easy to envision he and Kendricks creating havoc on defense. But that vision became a little more cloudy when, less than three weeks after making the trade, the Eagles re-signed veteran inside linebacker (and resident Mufasa) DeMeco Ryans. And as if that weren’t enough, the Eagles then selected Texas inside linebacker Jordan Hicks in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

While the coaching staff continues to publicly support Kendricks, and though he acknowledged this week that he understands the business side of the NFL, the tea leaves appear pretty easy to read. The Eagles didn’t re-sign Ryans and trade LeSean McCoy for Alonso to bench either of them. And while it is true that defensive coordinator Billy Davis could make a three-man rotation work, it doesn’t seem like a great use of Kendricks’ abilities. Barring an unforseen injury this summer, it’s very possible that Kendricks will be playing for a new contract in another uniform this year.

FoxSports.com ranks the top 10 veteran acquisitions of the offseason, and half are either current or former Eagles. Of that group, Sam Bradford was ranked highest at No. 3:

The NFL’s biggest offseason gamble could make or break Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. Bradford was playing the best football of his NFL career with St. Louis midway through the 2013 season but hasn’t played since because of two knee injuries.

Also included on the list were Nick Foles, McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and Murray.

Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly has Billy Davis’ latest take on Brandon Boykin:

If you’re buying what defensive coordinator Bill Davis sold Wednesday, the reason Boykin hasn’t earned a starting job on the outside has nothing to do with the fourth-year corner’s size.

“None whatsoever,” Davis said. “None whatsoever. If you’re good enough, you’re big enough. If you’re good enough, you’re fast enough. Do we look for and bring in taller corners? Yeah. But it doesn’t mean Boykin is at a disadvantage. It really doesn’t.

“He’s outstanding. I love Boykin, he’s one of my favorite guys. He does a great job in the nickel, he’s competing out there at corner. He’s had a great offseason. And the best man will win out there and if Boyk’s the best man, he’s got it.”

Football Outsiders has some interesting numbers on Boykin:

Brandon Boykin, after a 2013 season in which he saw about half the snaps and performed well (56 percent adjusted success rate), succeeded at an even higher rate in 2014 and somehow saw the field even less (42.7 percent of snaps).

Sheil Kapadia contributed to this post.