I’m going a little stir crazy while working from home. I spend my time doing a zillion mock drafts on The Draft Network and then watch Sheldon Brown highlight videos on YouTube. What I’m getting at is that I just miss the Birds big time.

The world is falling apart. The health of millions and millions of people is at risk. The job marketing is tanking. We all need a release, moments of respite from the things that bring us down. So often during my life, the Eagles have been that solace for me. With NFL free agency proceeding as usual this month, the Birds and the NFL have done that for me yet again. I’m ready for as much Eagles talk as possible until Day 1 of the draft.

This is where my new bracket comes in. I’ve been toying with doing something like this for a while and after talking to our fearless leader Brandon Lee Gowton, I came up with the following tournament where Birds fans everywhere can vote on their favorite (not necessarily best) Eagles players ever.

I want to clarify, that these are my selections. I turn 26 years old in May. I consider myself the most historically knowledge Philadelphia sports fan of my age, but I am ultimately a victim of my time. If you don’t like me for my rankings from long ago Eagles seasons, let me know. Direct all complaints towards me.

Voting will be handled through Twitter in easy to follow threads on the main @BleedingGreen account that I will be running. I will do one round per day (Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet 16, etc.) starting at 10 a.m. Eastern with the polls expiring at midnight. I’ll do a post for all the true BGN heads on here every morning as well with updated results. Let’s have some fun!

I’ve divided the Eagles franchise into four inexact periods: Classic Birds (players from the team’s inception until the early 1980s), Buddy Era (mid-’80s until the end of the ‘90s), Andy Era (2000s) and Super Bowl Champs (the modern Eagles). Here’s how I seeded the most beloved players in Eagles history:

Classic Birds

1. Chuck Bednarik, LB/C, 1949-1962

vs.

16. Al Wistert, OT, 1943-1951

8. Bill Bergey, LB, 1974-1980

vs.

9. Norm Van Brocklin, QB, 1958-1960

5. Wilbert Montgomery, RB, 1977-1984

vs.

12. Vince Papale, WR, 1976-1978

4. Ron Jaworski, QB, 1977-1986

vs.

13. Tommy Thompson, QB, 1941-1950

6. Tommy McDonald, WR, 1957-1963

vs.

11. Pete Retzlaff, TE, 1956-1966

3. Mike Quick, WR, 1982-1990

vs.

14. Sonny Jurgensen, QB, 1957-1961

7. Steve Van Buren, HB, 1944-1951

vs.

10. Pete Pihos, End, 1947-1955

2. Harold Carmichael, WR, 1971-1983

vs.

15. Tom Brookshier, DB, 1953-1961

Buddy Era

1. Reggie White, DE, 1985-1992

vs.

16. Andy Harmon, DT, 1991-1997

8. Keith Jackson, TE, 1988-1991

vs.

9. Keith Byars, HB, 1986-1992

5. Seth Joyner, LB, 1986-1993

vs.

12. Irving Fryar, WR, 1996-1998

4. Eric Allen, CB, 1988-1994

vs.

13. Ricky Watters, RB, 1995-1997

6. Clyde Simmons, DE, 1986-1993

vs.

11. Fred Barnett

3. Jerome Brown, DT, 1987-1991

vs.

14. William Fuller, DE, 1994-1996

7. Wes Hopkins, S, 1983-1993

vs.

10. Andre Waters, S, 1984-1992

2. Randall Cunningham, QB, 1985-1995

vs.

15. Cris Carter, WR, 1987-1989

Andy Era

1. Brian Dawkins, 1996-2008

vs.

16. Tra Thomas, OT, 1998-2008

8. Michael Vick, QB, 2009-2013

vs.

9. Troy Vincent, CB, 1996-2003

5. LeSean McCoy, RB, 2009-2014

vs.

12. Sheldon Brown, CB, 2002-2009

4. DeSean Jackson, 2008-2013, 2019

vs.

13. David Akers, K, 1999-2010

6. Terrell Owens, WR, 2004-2005

vs.

11. Duce Staley, RB, 1997-2003

3. Brian Westbrook, RB, 2002-2009

vs.

14. Brent Celek, TE, 2007-2017

7. Jeremiah Trotter, LB, 1998-2001, 2004-2006, 2009

vs.

10. Lito Sheppard, CB, 2002-2008

2. Donovan McNabb, QB, 1999-2009

vs.

15. Trent Cole, DE, 2005-2014

Super Bowl Champs

1. Nick Foles, QB, 2012-2014, 2017-2018

vs.

16. Nelson Agholor, WR, 2015-2019

8. Zach Ertz, TE, 2013-present

vs.

9. Lane Johnson, OT, 2013-present

5. Jason Peters, OT, 2009-2019

vs.

12. Brandon Brooks, OG, 2016-present

4. Malcolm Jenkins, S, 2014-2019

vs.

13. LeGarrette Blount, RB, 2017

6. Brandon Graham, DE, 2010-present

vs.

11. Chris Long, DE, 2016-2017

3. Jason Kelce, C, 2011-present

vs.

14. Darren Sproles, RB, 2014-2019

7. Fletcher Cox, DT, 2012-present

vs.

10. Alshon Jeffery, WR, 2017-present

2. Carson Wentz, QB, 2016-present

vs.

15. Jake Elliott, K, 2017-present

Again, stay tuned to the @BleedingGreen Twitter account to vote and I’ll have a fresh update here on BGN in the morning!