Eagles Top 25 Best Players Countdown: Special Teams Star Lands at No. 12

PHILADELPHIA - The third phase often doesn’t get a lot of love in professional football.

Eagles placekicker Jake Elliott has forced observers to take notice of his consistent play, spiking in the 2023 season when the eight-year pro was named second-team All-Pro.

Another accolade is where Elliott, 29, stands on SI.com’s annual list of the top 25 Eagles ranked by Eagles on Sports Illustrated beat reporters Ed Kracz and John McMullen. 

Elliott is No. 12 after setting the franchise’s single-season record for field goal percentage (93.8%) after knocking through 30-of-32 kicks last season. The Memphis product also had a personal high of 135 points, the fifth-highest total in club history.

The list has become an annual affair as the two reporters submit their top 25 lists simultaneously so each would be unaffected by the others. No. 1 on the list is awarded 25 points and so on down the list with No. 25 receiving one point.

Elliott finished No. 11 on Kracz’s list and No. 12 on McMullen’s, the kind of consistent showing that highlights the kicker’s career.

Elliott’s origin story dates back to 2017 when he was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by Cincinnati. 

Despite investing what is considered a premium asset for a kicker, the Bengals failed to show patience with the then-rookie and stuck with veteran Randy Bullock, hoping to stash Elliott on the practice squad and revisit his potential later.

The Eagles came calling when Caleb Sturgis suffered an injury and Elliott is still kicking eight years later. 

Elliott didn't exactly hit the ground running during his early days with the Eagles to the point the intimidating Jason Peters offered up some sage advice: “No more misses.”

The 5-foot-9. 167-pound Elliott evidently had the ears opened to Peters, a franchise legend and potential future Hall of Famer, and 'kicked' off the incredible Eagles' run to a Super Bowl LII championship with a 61-yard game-winner against the New York Giants.

Since then Elliott has had so many big kicks that most have lost count, including another 61-yarder against Minnesota last season and the boot that Elliott himself believes was his best, a 59-yarder that cut through the rain and wind against Buffalo that sent that game into overtime and ultimately ended in a Philadelphia win.

Since his only poor season in 2020 season in which Elliott connected on career lows in both field-goal (73.7) and extra-point percentage (92.3), he has been lights out, making 80 of 88 field goals (90.9 percent), including a mind-blowing 15 of 17 (88.2%) from 50-plus.

The rebound in effectiveness coincides with Michael Clay’s arrival as special teams coordinator and the emergence of special teams assistant Tyler Brown as a sounding board. Brown’s father Randy is Justin Tucker’s long-time kicking coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

“I think it's just nice to have someone that speaks the same lingo in terms of type of kicking mechanics,” Clay said when discussing Brown and his impact on Elliott’s form.

Elliott was rewarded for his work this offseason with a four-year, $24 million extension that matched Tucker’s average annual value atop the NFL's list of highest-paid kickers. He also mentioned the younger Brown helping put the focus on consistency.

“I’ve just kind of kept my process,” Elliott said after inking his extension. “I really focus in on my fundamentals in the offseason. I think ever since Tyler Brown’s come in here with Coach Clay, he’s kind of honed in on some of that stuff with me and helped me develop a plan in the offseason.”

While Tyler Brown has certainly been integral, Elliott is known in the Eagles’ locker room for being a special athlete, especially when it involves hand-eye coordination.

Elliott is a skilled golfer, once won the Carson Wentz charity softball game Home Run Derby, dominates in intra-team ping-pong, is a tremendous pure shooter in basketball, and has even taken up pickleball at an advanced pace.  

“Jake's got to this level by being a professional and being really good at his technique,” Clay said.

MORE NFL: Eagles Top 25 Best Players Countdown: Pass Rusher Looking To Get Back On Track