There isn't a shortage of individual talent among the Philadelphia Eagles, the favorite to repeat as NFC East champions. A stacked offensive line and a deep pool of skilled playmakers, Eagles fans have plenty to be excited about in 2014.
If we were to pluck one of them off the roster and send him down the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Pittsburgh, we'd likely get an excellent player.
So which one is it?
When one thinks of the Eagles in their current form, they think offense. Those playmakers are excellent indeed, but the grunts in the trenches make them who they are. Left guard Evan Mathis is among the best interior linemen in the game, and left tackle Jason Peters and center Jason Kelce are among the best at their positions as well.
Defensively, outside linebacker Brandon Graham is used more on a rotation basis, but he maximizes his impact on each snap. He looks like the stout, powerful edge pass-rusher who can help pressure the left side of an offensive scheme.
No one would complain about having Trent Cole, of course. One of the best all-around outside linebackers in the game, his eight sacks came with far fewer snaps than most edge rushers in the game. Spreading his production out over a full slate, he'd be a statistical monster.
Pittsburgh's own LeSean McCoy is one of the best players in the game. Passionate, fiery and dominant, the Steelers may have their running backs and they may like their running backs. McCoy makes any running backs group better.
While Ben Roethlisberger would be the better choice, Nick Foles earns mention in here as well. Very few quarterbacks, if any, can throw 317 passes with only two of them getting intercepted. Doing that in his second year of playing time is unreal. Definitely a bright future for him.
Ultimately, making the argument of taking the best all-around player at a position that could use a boost, it would seem Mathis or Cole would be the top choices. It's the easy storyline here, but opponents have nothing easy on Mathis. Adding him to the Steelers' offensive front not only improves the line quite a bit, but having Ramon Foster ready and able to handle a swing interior line spot would be the biggest boost the Steelers could have right now.
Mathis is our guy. Be careful driving down the Pike.