General manager Howie Roseman and then-Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid originally drafted Fletcher Cox with the expectation that he'd become a penetrating defensive tackle in the 4-3 defense Reid had favored for all 14 of his seasons as the head honcho in Philly.
After Reid was ousted and Chip Kelly took over the Eagles and implemented Billy Davis' 3-4 at the behest of Kelly, questions began to build over just how Cox would perform in a scheme that asked him to read and react before attacking as opposed to simply firing off the ball and wreaking whatever havoc he could possibly cause.
If yesterday's nationally televised 33-10 beat down against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day was any indication, those questions can officially be put to rest, as Cox and the Philly coaching staff have managed to transform him into one of the most dominant 3-4 defensive ends in the league.
"Fletcher Cox is great every day," Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin said via Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. "He's a Pro Bowl player. I thought the play of the day was the turnover. Second-and-2, Fletcher dominated the play and got a TFL [tackle for a loss], made it Third-and-4. I think that was the play of the game that set the tone for the whole game."
The 23-year-old Cox, playing the five-technique defensive end spot in Davis' 3-4, doesn't fill the stat sheet, but still impacts the game in a wholly dominant manner. He did finish with a sack - his third in the last four games - against Dallas, but his biggest impact is in controlling his gaps, working laterally in the run game, keeping the linebackers behind him clean, collapsing the pocket from the interior and taking whatever opportunities he can to rush the passer.
It's a position that requires so much dirty work and such little recognition. But after the Dallas game, the accolades may finally start to build.
"I would say it's one of my best games," Cox admitted. "It comes off guys doing their jobs. Trent [Cole] setting the edge and Connor [Barwin] setting edge and Bennie [Logan] stuffing the middle. It's not just me, it's guys around me doing their jobs, and they made it kind of easy for me."
Of the other top five-technique 3-4 defensive ends in the league, only J.J. Watt, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson have earned higher grades from Pro Football Focus this season, according to NFL.com.
According to Mosher, Cox's teammates felt he deserved a Pro Bowl nod after last season. It may be a year late, but it looks like that recognition, quite possibly his first of many, may finally come.
