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DUBS:
Prior to last season in the NFL, not many non-college football fans knew who Cornerback(CB) Quinyon Mitchell(#27) was. He played his high school football in Florida at Williston Middle High School. Coming out of high school however, he was not highly recruited by the bigger college football programs. So Mitchell decided to make a name for himself at the University of Toledo where he became the all-time leader in career pass breakups(46), led the Mid-America Conference(MAC) in pass breakups, and he was selected to multiple All-America teams. Coming out of college Mitchell was one of the highest graded CB’s in the country and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round at pick number 22 in 2024. Quinyon had such a promising rookie season starting at CB2 alongside longtime veteran Darius Slay that the Philly fans gave him the nickname “Quintanamo Bay” referring to his lockdown coverage. Slay moved on in 2025, so Mitchell became CB1 in Philly. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was so impressed with Mitchell’s skills during his rookie season he decided to allow #27 to become a “Shadow CB”, which means Mitchell would follow the opponents best receiver to either side of the field. This past season Q has shown his rookie season was no fluke and the numbers don’t lie. His numbers include a 41.6%-45.5% completion percentage, allowing a 60.3 passer rating, 5 pass breakups in one game, and 45 total tackles. Mitchell still hasn’t recorded a regular season interception, but he is one of the most consistent cover corners I’ve seen in along time. In just 2 NFL seasons Quinyon Mitchell has become a World Champion and Pro Bowler.
Much like MItchell, CB Cooper DeJean(Coop/#33) was not widely heard of outside of his home state of Iowa. Cooper played his high school ball at (OA-BCIG) Odebolt-Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove in Ida Grove, Iowa. He excelled at track, basketball, and of course football. He opted to stay close to home and chose to attend the University of Iowa and become a Hawkeye. He became a star CB/Safety/Punt Returner for Iowa recording multiple pick-sixes and a punt return for a touchdown. DeJean went on to become a unanimous All-American in the 2023 season. Coop was selected 40th overall in the 2nd round of the 2024 NFL draft. DC Vic Fangio decided not to start DeJean until after the Eagles lost to Tampa Bay in week 4 and had fallen to 2-2. This is when #33 was plugged into the slot corner position over the bye week and the young man from Iowa has really hit the ground running. He is a good punt returner, very good in coverage, and one of the best open field tacklers in the game of football. DeJean picked off Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX and returned that interception for a touchdown on his 22nd birthday(the ultimate present for a young athlete). He too has become a World Champ and Pro Bowler in his first 2 NFL seasons.
SNUBS:
This next person I’m going to talk about is Tight End(TE) Dallas Goedert(D-God/#88). He played his high school football for Britton-Hecla in Britton, South Dakota. Much like DeJean, Goedert decided to go to college in his home state of South Dakota. Becoming a Jackrabbit at South Dakota State is where he flourished. From 2013-2017 D-God had 198 receptions for 2,988 yard, 21 touchdowns, and 2 straight 1,000 yard seasons. He was also a first-team All-American in the FCS twice. Goedert was selected in the 2nd round (49th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles to eventually replace legend TE Zach Ertz who caught the winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII the previous season. Dallas played and learned behind Ertz until Zach was traded on 10/15/21 to Arizona. In 2021 D-God had a breakout year in yardage(830) and yards per catch(14.8) on 56 receptions. Dallas is about to turn 31 today(01/3/26, Happy Birthday D-God!) and was on the trade block this past off-season due to his high salary cap hit. The Eagles did receive some offers during the 2025 draft, but the ultimately decided to keep #88 around and reworked his contract(something GM Howie Roseman has a Masters degree in). This decision turned out to be a good one with Goedert having a career year in touchdown receptions. Goedert has posted 11 touchdowns this year which is 3 more than his previous 3 seasons combined(8) and only 1 less than his last 4 seasons combined(12). The numbers you just read and the fact he has stayed healthy all season(he’s had injury issues in past) are why I think he was snubbed on not being selected to this years Pro Bowl.
Defensive Tackle(DT) Jordan Davis(JD/#90) was born on January 12, 2000 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Davis didn’t start playing football until he was a junior in high school at Mallard Creek in Charlotte. He caught on to the sport very fast and by the time he was a senior he had football scholarships from Georgia, Clemson, Florida, Miami (Florida), his home state of North Carolina. JD chose to commit to Georgia and become a Bulldog. In 11 games as a freshman Davis had 25 tackles, 1.5 sacks, was named to the All-Freshman team, and was an All-American. By the time JD was a sophmore at Georgia he was 6’6″ tall and weighed 330 lbs. In his 2nd collegiate season Davis had 18 tackles(4.5 tackles for loss), and 2.5 sacks. Jordan had his best season as a senior at Georgia when he had 32 tackles(17 solo), 2 sacks, and 1 pass breakup. That year JD won the Chuck Bednarik award, the John Outland trophy, and was named a Consensus All-American. Jordan put on some weight in college and when he was drafted with the 13th pick in the 1st round of the 2022 NFL draft he was 341 lbs. JD continued to gain weight(356 lbs by 2024) during the first few seasons in the NFL and his endurance was affected. So Jordan went on a mission this past off-season and cut out sugary drinks, sweets, and focused on a healthier diet all together. This helped his drop from 356 lbs to 330 lbs and his game has benefited dramatically. #90 went from 18(22′), 45(23′), 27(24′) combined tackles to 70 this year. He also has 1 more sack(4.5) this season than his first 3 seasons combined. JD also has double the amount of pass breakups(6) than he had in his first 3 years in Philly, one resulting in an interception. Davis has also contributed on special teams, where in week 3 he single handedly help seal the win vs the Rams. #90 not only blocked what would have been the game winning field goal but he scooped and scored from 60 yards out. The Eagles have some players that I think deserved a Pro Bowl selection like RT Lane Johnson, LT Jordan Mailata, LB Nakobe Dean, and the before mentioned Dallas Goedert. However, the snubbing of Jordan Davis was by far the worst and most disappointing. Football is the ultimate team sport which is almost always graded on team achievements and not individual accolades. So a 3rd Super Bowl victory by my Philadelphia Eagles will make these Pro Bowl selections and snubs a thing of the past.
Happy New Year Everyone and Go Birds!!
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