Eagles Top 25 For 2025: Heir To A Legend Is No. 12

There’s a sentiment in sports that says you want to be the player to replace the player who replaces a legend, not the guy with the unenviable task of following a six-time All-Pro with the GPS pointed toward Canton, who arguably has been the most popular athlete in Philadelphia.

Fourth-year Eagles center Cam Jurgens never wavered in the shadow of that daunting job description, and his first season as the heir to Jason Kelce as the Philadelphia Eagles starting center ended with a Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl LIX championship for the Nebraska product.

Jurgens flashed his grit and toughness along the way, finishing the season by playing through a painful back injury that required surgery. 

Despite that, Jurgens was rewarded with a four-year, $68 million extension by the organization and finished No. 12 on Eagles On SI’s annual Top 25 players on the roster heading toward training camp later this month.

Jurgens, the 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft, spent his rookie season interning under Kelce and standout interior player Isaac Seumalo before getting his first chance to play at right guard next to Kelce in 2023 when he was named a Pro Bowl alternate.

Drafted with the idea of eventually replacing Kelce, that opportunity came last season after Kelce’s retirement, and Jurgens, 25, took the baton as the on-field leader of the NFL’s best offensive line that helped Saquon Barkley rush for a league record 2,504 yards (including the postseason). 

“I feel like before the season, every day I was getting questions about what it’s like taking over for Kelce, this and that,” Jurgens said after being named to the Pro Bowl. “Every single day. Same question. Over and over, over and over from you guys. 

“Then the season started, and I feel like I was playing good, and I didn’t get a single question about that until just now. I feel like I did good my first year. There’s still room to improve, but I’m happy.”

EOSI beat reporters Ed Kracz and John McMullen each compiled their top 25 lists separately, and a point system determined the final list, with No. 1 receiving 25 points down to one point for No. 25.

The idea is to determine the best pure football players on perhaps the NFL’s most talented roster. Impact (the quarterback would also be No. 1 in any city) is not what the last is about. It’s essentially Bill Belichick rules to determine who does their particular job the best.

The captain of Jeff Stoutland's impressive group hit career highs with 16 starts and 1,068 snaps in the 2024-25 regular season, buoyed by another three starts and 217 more reps in the postseason.

Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson started the NFC Championship Game blowout win over Washington, while Jurgens dressed only in case of emergency. The break of the glass came when Dickerson injured his knee, and Jurgens went in to play the second half in pain during a 55-23 win.

Jurgens finished No. 14 on McMullen’s list while Kracz was more bullish on the emerging star, putting Jurgens in his top 10 at No. 10. The combined 28 points landed Jurgens at No. 12 on the final list.

“What I’m doing is working,” said Jurgens. “Put your head down and work and things are gonna pan out the way they pan out.”