Atlanta Falcons three players to watch closely against the Eagles

1. Fletcher Cox

Fletcher Cox is a player who has been absolutely dominant at different points throughout his career. Whether it is age or injuries he has been noticeably slowed over the last two years. Still, Atlanta needs to game plan for the veteran defensive lineman.

If he is healthy he is absolutely capable of shutting down the running game and wreaking havoc in the backfield. With a new starting center and a reshuffled offensive line, Atlanta needs to dedicate plenty of attention to Cox.

The biggest potential issue for Atlanta isn’t his ability to get to the quarterback but his ability to consistently penetrate into the offensive backfield and ruin the run game. Atlanta’s ability to block Fletcher will determine whether or not they can run the football.

Fletcher has 54.5-career sacks and 130-career quarterback hits. He is easily Philly’s best player defensively and is one of the few familiar names left from their iconic Super Bowl run led by Nick Foles.

Fletcher Cox was a huge contributor during that run leading the defensive unit. Chris Lindstrom and Matt Hennessey will need to both work together to slow down the defensive tackle who will often line up in between the two and attempt to create a mismatch one Atlanta cannot afford with any regularity.