Tuesday’s Top Twelve – Best Andy Reid Acquisitions

In the wake of the great trade pulled off by the Eagles, Tuesday’s Top Twelve will be dedicated to trying to find the best 12 acquisitions that Andy Reid has made during his decade at the helm of the Eagles.

This list will not include Eagles’ greats of the Reid era who were acquired before he came, thus ruling out Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas, Duce Staley, the cornerback duo of Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor, and Jeremiah Trotter or Hugh Douglas (their first times around).

This list will take into consideration potential performance, but will weight past performance more heavily.  So, in the future, this list may include the likes of Stewart Bradley, Stacey and Shawn Andrews, and even possibly Kevin Curtis or, dare I say, Kevin Kolb.

This list will not include the less-than-fantastic acquisitions of Freddie Mitchell, LJ Smith, Old School Blaine Bishop, and Hank Baskett.  It also will not include the relative disappointments of linemen Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard.

12. Brian Mitchell (acquired in 2000 as a free agent from the Washington Redskins).  Though he came to the Birds late in his career and only stayed for three seasons, there was just something about B-Mitch that made sense on this team, even if all he did was return kicks.  He was a master at the art of the kick and punt returns, and you never, ever had to worry with him back there.  But, it wasn’t even his Hall-of-Fame play on the field that made him a Top Twelve Andy Reid Acquisition, it was the intense veteran leadership that he brought to the clubhouse.  He may have been the best leader a football team has ever seen that did not play offense or defense.  He helped create the winning attitude that kicked off the most successful decade in Eagles history.

11. DeSean Jackson (acquired in 2008 as the #49 overall draft pick from University of California).  The jury is still out on Jackson, so it was very hard to put him on this list at all, but I am a sucker for what he did as a rookie last year.  After oh so many of Andy Reid’s swings and misses with wideouts in the draft, all signs point to possibly knocking it out of the park with Jackson.  Attitude aside, this guy brought it and brought it good all year last year, quickly becoming the go-to guy for McNabb at a position at which most experts agree is, by far, the most difficult for rookies to succeed.  I still want Anquan Boldin, but even if the stubborn front office makes the same mistake for the 9th year in the last ten, I feel a little comforted by the presence of a #1 receiver on the roster already.

10. Jeremiah Trotter (re-acquired in 2004 as a free agent from the Washington Redskins).  He would be MUCH higher on this list if Andy Reid had drafted him, but his original stint with the Eagles began in 1998, as a third-round pick out of Stephen F. Austin.  Then again, he probably would not make the list if it was just his play during his second tenure here that counted.  He had clearly lost a step when he came back from his free agent foray to Washington in 1994.  But, what he had lost to age, he more than made up for with leadership and intelligence.  The “quarterback of the defense,” Trotter was an extension of Jim Johnson on the field, knowing every gap that needed to be filled and doing it with his patented intensity.

9. Mike Patterson (acquired in 2005 as the #31 overall draft pick from USC) and Brodrick Bunkley (acquired in 2006 as the #14 overall draft pick from Florida State University).  As successive first-round picks at the same position, it is all too easy to lump Patterson and Bunkley together into one, albeit extremely large, package deal.  And, though the early returns probably indicated that the Birds had missed on not one, but both of these guys, last year told a wholly different story, and I think that we can expect more of last year’s performance in the future from these two.  Despite a couple apparently wasted seasons, these two guys both emerged last year at levels at or even above that which anyone could have hoped for their 3rd and 4th seasons, respectively.  Now, entering their primes together, I expect big things from these two big men going forward.  But, then again, I always tend to overvalue linemen on both sides of the ball (more on that in a minute), so I may have done that here too.

8. Trent Cole (acquired in 2005 as a fifth-round pick from the University of Cincinnati).  A fifth-round pick that is a certifiable Pro-Bowler; that does not happen every day.  But, that is what the Eagles got in 2005’s fifth-round–a bonafied “steal” in Trent Cole.  At first, he just looked like an over-anxious guy who was trying to make the team, but he just kept making plays.  And, he hasn’t stopped since.  The guy is a menace on the line and has clearly outshined the much more revered (and higher paid) Kearse and Howard.  Cole is now the unquestioned leader of a very good defensive line and may be the most under-appreciated superstar in the NFL.

7. Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, and Sheldon Brown (all three acquired in 2002 as the #26, #58, and #59 overall draft picks, respectively, from the Universities of Florida, Colorado, and South Carolina).  Another package deal comes straight from the 2002 draft, which was not received well in Philadelphia, if I recall correctly.  Living in Philly, at the time, I distinctly remember the outrage of fans–and even many Eagles reporters/”experts”–at the Eagles’ draft choices.  At the time, the Eagles had three Pro Bowl players in the secondary–cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor and free safety Brian Dawkins.  Plus, the team was coming off an NFC championship appearance fueled mostly by their defense, so heading into the 2002 draft, it appeared that they had other needs, specifically to put weapons around their budding star of a quarterback.  But, Andy Reid & Co., as usual, did what they wanted to do, not what the prevailing opinions would have them do.  They had 3 picks in the first two rounds, and instead of doing what 31 other NFL teams do and draft positions where they have the greatest need, the Eagles decided to use those picks in the area of their greatest strength–taking three defensive backs.  But, in retrospect, the move was as brilliant as it was odd.  Jim Johnson knows that in order for him to blitz as often as he does, he has to have cornerbacks that he trusts to leave on islands.  He also knows that his defense is rather complicated and takes time, repitition, and guidance to learn well.  So, the two corners came in, learned from their Pro Bowl mentors and came of age at the PERFECT time–just as the precipitous decline of cornerbacks started to hit Taylor and Vincent.  By that time, they older, more expensive guys were let go, and Sheppard and Brown stepped right in and became Pro Bowlers, themselves.  It was actually an impressively seemless transition that never skipped a beat, despite replacing 3/4 of the unit.

6. Jason Peters (acquired in 2009 in a trade with the Buffalo Bills for a 2009 first-round pick and an undisclosed 2010 late-round pick).  The impetus of this Top Twelve list has yet to play a game for the Eagles and he is already here at #6–that is how highly I think of this move.  There are questions about Peters’ attitude and work ethic, but that just sounds like sniping from his jolted lover of an ex-team.  What has never been questioned are his size and his talent.  For his size, Peters is unhumanly athletic–being a former tight end.  He is, by many accounts, the best left tackle in football, and he is only 27.  This is a complete steal for the Birds who, if Stacey Andrews can bring himself and his brother to their potentials, now have one of the best two or three offensive lines in football.  This is a coup.

5. Asante Samuel (acquired in 2008 as a free agent from the New England Patriots).  The best cornerback on the planet became an Eagle last offseason, took a little while to get acclimated to the defensive system, and then exploded with a FANTASTIC second-half last year.  Expect Samuel to continue his dominance this year.  As I mentioned earlier, having great corners enables Jim Johnson to do all the things he wants to do on defense.  Did anyone notice the difference between the Eagles defense in the first 8-9 games last year, as opposed to the final 7 plus playoffs?  I firmly believe that was just a case of Asante learning the system and feeling comfortable.  Once that happened–around mid-season–Johnson was able to dial up all the blitzes he wanted to.  This should carry on right into 2009, all because of the greatness that is Asante Samuel.

4. Terrell Owens (acquired in 2004 as a free agent from the San Francisco 49ers).  Now, I know the Eagles chapter in the bestselling novel that is TO’s career has been closed and only lasted 21 games, but what a chapter it was!  Obviously, TO did more to wreck this franchise than any other player, probably, in Eagles history.  But, he also brought them to a place that they have only other been one other time in their history–the Super Bowl.  The one time Reid went out and got a big-time receiver and it was the one year that the Eagles offense was unstoppable.  The Eagles were in desperate need of a big-play wide receiver before TO’s arrival and since his departure.  Because of 2004, it is hard to argue with this acquisition not being among the best of Andy Reid’s tenure, regardless of 2005 or thereafter.  And, this all from a guy who wasn’t even in the country to enjoy ’04 and who returned just in time to suffer ’05.

3. Jon Runyan (acquired in 2000 as a free agent from the Tennessee Titans).  I wanted to put TO in the top three because he led them to the Super Bowl, but that just goes to show you how much credit is thrust upon the loudmouthed jerks and how little is given to the quiet professionals.  Jon Runyan also “led” his team to Super Bowl XXXIX, he just did so in a much more dignified, professional manner.  And, he also “led” this team to four other NFC title games.  The rock of an offensive line that was asked to pass block FAR too often, yet did so with unrelenting success, Runyan, a free agent pickup in 2000 earned his weight in gold–and that’s a lot of gold–over nine incredibly consistent and dominant seasons.  The 6’9″, 330-pound right tackle may be heading for Canton one day, and it will be wearing Eagles Green.

2. Brian Westbrook (acquired in 2002 as the #91 overall draft pick from Villanova University).  What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about the greatness of Brian Westbrook.  A third-round pick that may have only fallen in the Eagles’ laps because he played his college ball down the road, Westbrook has been the most versatile, potent offensive weapon that I have ever seen wear Eagles’ green.  Asked to do so much more than just be a lead back, the diminutive Westbrook has meant everything to the Eagles his entire career.  The old cliche is apt here:  “As goes Brian Westbrook, so go the Eagles.”  It is hard to imagine anything even resembling this run of success without him.  Oh, and how about that 2002 draft?  The first four selections all making the Top Twelve of Andy Reid’s tenure?  Wow!

1. Donovan McNabb (acquired in 1999 as the #2 overall draft pick from Syracuse University).  Andy Reid’s first-ever acquisition as an NFL head coach/executive remains, to this day, his best.  Franchise quarterbacks come along once in a generation, if you’re lucky.  And, the Andy landed one on his first consequential day on the job.  Everyone knows the story (and have heard countless times from nationwide Wilbon sycophants who fall over themselves to unoriginally rip Philadelphia fans at any opportunity) of how Reid “pulled a Reid” by going against public perception and desire by unpopularly selecting McNabb over Ricky Williams and a chorus of boos.  Little did we know that this one pick–his first–is sort of a blueprint of the next decade of the Andy Reid Era in Philadelphia.  Unexpected.  Exceedingly unpopular.  Cold, but calculated.  And, most of all, brilliantly successful.  The 1999 draft will forever be remember by the 3 QBs taken 1-2-3 and then two more at #11 & 12.  Five quarterbacks picked in the first 12 selections.  Plus, add Shaun King (second round) and Brock Huard (third round) to the mix and you have a historic draft for QBs.  But, what do King, Huard, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, and Cade McNown all have that Donovan McNabb does not?  Busted careers.  Out of the 7 quarterbacks taken in the first three rounds (including five in the first dozen picks), only McNabb became a franchise signal-caller.  And a franchise quarterback is, my friends, the best commodity an NFL franchise can acquire.

Any disagreements, omissions, comments?  Feel free to post your them, just know that this list is correct.