His breakout campaign was in 2014 when he was named second-team All-Pro for the first time in his career. He had 70 tackles, four sacks, and scored his first career touchdown in the season opener against Jacksonville.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck back home.

Just a few weeks after the season ended, Cox’s brother passed away from a heart attack at the age of 34. To this day, he misses being able to work on cars with him. He wishes he could pull out the phone and call him like he used to, sometimes 15 times a day, just to chat about anything and everything from family, football, and, of course, cars.

Shaddrick left behind a young family of his own. When Cox goes back to Yazoo City, he now takes Shaddrick’s son, T.J., into the auto shop to show him the ropes - just like his big brother did for him. Cox dedicated the 2015 season to his brother and earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career. He produced career highs with 104 tackles (80 solo), 9.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. His 9.5 sacks were the most by an Eagles interior defensive lineman since Corey Simon had 9.5 in 2000. He was also named second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press for a second straight year.

The Eagles rewarded Cox with one of the most lucrative contracts for an interior defensive lineman in NFL history.

“He’s a difficult matchup one-on-one. He plays the run well and he plays the pass well. You know, there’s a reason we gave him all that money, and it’s not because he fits a certain scheme or anything else. He’s just a really good player,” says defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

Cox wreaked havoc once again in 2016, earning another trip to the Pro Bowl as well as being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. He had 6.5 sacks on the year, good for a fifth-place tie among all defensive tackles. This year, Cox’s teammates notice the franchise defensive player taking a more vocal leadership role on the team. He has enjoyed a lot of individual success in his brief time in the league but wants to help the Eagles achieve even more.

“I think Fletcher takes a lot of pride in who he is and where he came from,” Wilson says. “He takes a lot of pride in the last name that’s on his back and I think that’s what motivates him more than anything. I think that his family is his driving force when it comes to him being really successful.”

The 2017 model of Fletcher Cox is turbocharged and ready to fuel the defense. He opened the season with sacks in each of the first two games, as well as a touchdown off a fumble return in the win over Washington. He bounced back from a calf injury to command the line of scrimmage against Carolina, where he recorded two tackles, a half of a sack, and tipped a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Rasul Douglas.

“In order for that defense to get going, those guys look at me because if I’m waiting for someone else to set the tone, that’s a mistake,” Cox says. “Everybody’s fired up. I tell everybody this, but the only thing that’s in the way is us. We have to count on each other to do the job. We can’t wait for a team to hit us in the mouth to react. Everything doesn’t go as planned. We have to be able to counterpunch when things happen because no game is perfect.”

Story by Chris McPherson. Photos and design by Kiel Leggere, Christine Dorn, and John Geliebter.