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Roob's Top 10: Willie T? Clyde Simmons? Sheldon Brown? Ranking the most underrated Eagles

reuben frank
·9 min read
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Roob's Top 10: Willie T? Clyde Simmons? Sheldon Brown? Ranking the most underrated Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Eagles history is full of players who never got the recognition they deserved considering their accomplishments.

Many of them just never played on good Eagles teams. Others were snubbed repeatedly for honors like Pro Bowl and all-pro. Others were overshadowed by the superstars they played next to. And some just took years to earn the respect they were due because they were late-round picks, undrafted or came from small schools.

The 10 most underrated Eagles includes all of the above.

We have one guy who was among the top 10 in NFL history in sacks when he retired, a safety who had 23 interceptions and started on a championship team in a three-year span but didn’t make a Pro Bowl and a defensive tackle who had 38 ½ sacks in a four-year span but also didn’t make a Pro Bowl.

Here’s a look at the 10 most underrated players in Eagles history.

10. Ben Hawkins: Ben Hawkins had the misfortune of spending his eight years with the Eagles on some really bad teams. From 1967 through 1972, Hawkins’ six years as a full-time starter, the Eagles won just 23 of 84 games, didn’t have a winning season and had the 4th-worst record in the NFL. So nobody really noticed that Hawkins was one of the best receivers in the NFL. Despite playing on losing teams year after year and despite playing with a succession of bad or washed-up quarterbacks (King Hill, Norm Snead, Rick Arrington, Pete Liske, John Reaves, Roman Gabriel), Hawkins had the 10th-most receiving yards in the NFL during that six-year span. He never made a Pro Bowl and never made the playoffs, but from 1967 through 1972 he averaged 751 yards in 14-game seasons, his 18.7 average was 7th-highest in the NFL and he was 12th with 32 touchdowns. Half a century after he last played for the Eagles, Hawkins still ranks ninth among Eagles wide receivers with 4,764 yards and 10th in touchdowns.

9. Guy Morriss: When long-time center starter Mike Evans missed a Week 6 game against the Vikings at Metropolitan Stadium with the flu, Eagles coach Mike McCormack turned to Guy Morriss, a 22-year-old rookie from TCU. Morriss played so well he didn’t leave the lineup for 11 years. Morriss was the Eagles’ starting center from 1973 through 1983, starting 158 of 161 games during that period. He started on four straight playoff teams - from 1978 through 1981 - including the Eagles’ first Super Bowl season. His 151 starts are 4th-most ever by an Eagles offensive lineman and most by one who never made a Pro Bowl. He held the Eagles’ record for most starts by a center until Jason Kelce passed him in 2021. After he retired, Morriss had a long coaching career, including five years as head coach at Baylor from 2003 through 2007.

8. Sheldon Brown: He played in the shadow of Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins and flashy two-time Pro Bowler Lito Sheppard, but Sheldon Brown was a complete, consistent, steady player who held down one corner spot – mostly opposite Sheppard – from 2004 through 2009. The nature of his game – steady, under control, team concept – meant he didn’t get the attention of other star players. He wasn’t one to jump routes or risk giving up big plays to make big plays. He just did his job at a high level every day. Brown had 19 interceptions as an Eagle (and seven more as a Brown), and his three pick-6’s are 3rd-most in Eagles history, behind only Eric Allen’s five and Malcolm Jenkins’ four. During Brown’s 11 NFL seasons, only one other defensive back had more interceptions than Brown without making a Pro Bowl.

7. Correll Buckhalter: His knees prevented Buck from ever being a regular running back, but despite missing three entire seasons with knee injuries, he always did the most with his limited opportunities. From 2001 through 2008, Correll Buckhalter missed the entire 2002, 2004 and 2005 seasons but still averaged 4.5 yards per carry during that span, 13th-highest of 74 running backs with at least 500 carries over those eight seasons. His 4.5 average is 5th-highest in Eagles history, behind Miles Sanders, LeSean McCoy, Charlie Garner and Brian Westbrook. In the 19 games as an Eagle he got at least 10 carries, Buckhalter averaged 4.9 yards per rushing attempt. And he was an underrated receiver as well. Buck’s 10.5 career average is 3rd-highest in franchise history by a running back (minimum 75 catches), behind only Timmy Brown and Billy Ray Barnes. Although Buck ranks only 16th in Eagles history in rushing attempts by a RB, he’s 10th with 19 rushing touchdowns.

6. Randy Logan: Randy Logan was a model of consistency during his 11 years as a safety with the Eagles. He never missed a game, started on the 1980 Super Bowl team and was a key guy throughout the Dick Vermeil Era. In the Eagles’ six years with Marion Campbell as defensive coordinator – 1977 through 1982 – the Eagles had the No. 1 defense in the NFL and the No. 4 pass defense, and Logan was a big reason why. Logan’s streak of 124 consecutive starts is 5th-longest in Eagles history, behind Jon Runyan (144), Jason Kelce (139), Herm Edwards (135) and Jerry Sisemore (127). And his streak of 159 consecutive games played is 3rd-longest in Eagles history, behind Harold Carmichael (163) and Jon Dorenbos (162). Logan made 2nd-team all-pro in 1980 but never made a Pro Bowl. His 23 interceptions are 10th-most in Eagles history.

5. Todd Herremans: Todd Herremans never made a Pro Bowl, but in his 10 years with the Eagles playing left guard, right guard and right tackle, he was a very consistent offensive lineman and part of some very good teams. Herremans started the most games under Andy Reid without being selected to a Pro Bowl (100), and his 124 total starts as an Eagle are 2nd-most among Eagles offensive linemen behind Guy Morriss (151) in Eagles history without a Pro Bowl appearance. But during his 10 years in Philly, the Eagles had the No. 3 offense in the NFL and reached the playoffs five times. In all, Herremans has the 9th-most starts in Eagles history by an offensive lineman. Herremans is also one of 14 offensive linemen in NFL history with two or more touchdown catches, one from Donovan McNabb in 2008 and one from Michael Vick in 2010.

4. Don Burroughs: Ever heard of Don Burroughs? See, that’s what I mean. He’s so under-rated even the most ardent Eagles fans just kind of shrug when they hear his name. But Burroughs – nicknamed “The Blade” - had 29 interceptions in just five years with the Eagles, including 23 from 1960 through 1962 – the most in franchise history in a three-year span. In his five years with the Eagles, Burroughs had 29 INTs in 64 games with the Eagles, which is nearly one INT every other game. Burroughs spent his first five seasons with the Rams before the Eagles acquired him days before the 1960 season began in a trade for a draft pick. Burroughs’ 50 career interceptions, including 21 with the Rams, are tied for most ever by a player who never made a Pro Bowl or the Hall of Fame. His nine INTs with the 1960 NFL Championship team were 4th-most in the NFL and remain tied for 2nd-most in Eagles history, behind Bill Bradley’s 11 in 1971. Still ranks sixth in Eagles history with those 29 INTs.

3. William Thomas: Willie T. is never mentioned when people talk about the top outside linebackers of the past quarter century, but very few linebackers of any era combined his coverage ability and pass-rush skill. Thomas, who had played safety at Texas A&M, ranks third in NFL history among linebackers with 27 interceptions and 40th with 37 sacks. He and Hall of Famer Ray Lewis are the only players in NFL history with 25 interceptions and 35 sacks (including Thomas’s time with the Raiders). Thomas, a 4th-round pick in 1991, had 18 interceptions during his nine years with the Eagles – still the most in franchise history by a linebacker – and his 33 sacks are 2nd-most by a linebacker, four fewer than Seth Joyner. Because he played alongside so many superstars, Thomas never got the recognition he deserved, although he did make two Pro Bowls. But when it comes to playmaking linebackers, Willie T. was one of the best ever.

2. Clyde Simmons: Clyde played seven of his eight seasons with the Eagles in Reggie White’s shadow, but he was a tremendous defensive end in his own right, a monster against the run and 10th in NFL history with 121 ½ sacks at the point he retired after the 2000 season. Simmons, a 9th-round pick in 1986, led the NFL with 19 sacks in 1992, and during the four-year span from 1989 through 1992, it was Simmons and not White who had the most sacks in the NFL among defensive ends (55 for Simmons, 54 for White). Simmons was unfairly dismissed as a product of the double teams White was drawing, but teams had to account for Simmons as well, and he recorded 45 ½ sacks after White left the Eagles, including 11 for the Jaguars in 1995. Simmons still ranks third in Eagles history with 76 sacks and 16thin NFL history among edge rushers.

1. Andy Harmon: From 1992 through 1995, Andy Harmon was one of the most dominating defensive linemen in the NFL. Even though nobody really noticed. Playing alongside Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Eric Allen, Seth Joyner, Byron Evans, Wes Hopkins and Andre Waters, Harmon quietly went about his business as an elite run stuffer and one of the best pass-rushing interior linemen in the NFL. Harmon, a 6th-round pick out of Kent State, had 38 ½ sacks during that four-year span, 2nd-most among defensive tackles behind only Hall of Famer John Randle. Harmon had seasons with 9.0, 11.0 and 11 ½ sacks without making a Pro Bowl. Along with long-time Raider Bill Pickel, Harmon is one of only two interior linemen in NFL history with three nine-sack seasons to never make a Pro Bowl. And his 39 ½ total sacks are 9th-most in history by an interior lineman who never made a Pro Bowl. Harmon still ranks 8th in Eagles history in sacks and second among tacklers, behind only Fletcher Cox.