Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun named first-team AP All-Pro while four Eagles get second-team honors

Zack Baun’s transformation from edge rusher to off-ball linebacker with the Eagles not only earned him his first Pro Bowl bid, but also got him a first-team All-Pro award.

Baun was one of two Eagles named Friday to the first team in the annual Associated Press All-Pro list selected by a panel of 50 media members. The other, of course, was Saquon Barkley, who became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards. This is Barkley’s first All-Pro honor.

Baun’s ascent with the Eagles has been well-documented. The Eagles signed him to a one-year deal hoping he would be an affordable rotational edge rusher, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio saw in his “movement patterns” that Baun could be an off-ball linebacker, and he was right. Baun led the Eagles with 151 tackles during the regular season, good for a tie for sixth league-wide. He tallied 3½ sacks, five forced fumbles, and an interception.

» READ MORE: Remembering Sign Man's banner days at the Vet

Baun finished first among linebackers in the All-Pro voting.

“What you see with Zack is just a guy who is tough, physical, loves football, great work ethic,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Those guys that have all that usually, God willing, have an opportunity to reach their ceiling. He just keeps getting better, so I don’t think we know what his ceiling is.”

Baun, after being named to the Pro Bowl, said last week that he thought he was playing himself into consideration for these honors.

“Obviously you just work and work and work and hope that’s going to be the outcome, but you never really expect it,” he said.

A.J. Brown, Jalen Carter, Lane Johnson, and Jordan Mailata were named to the second team.

Johnson was named to the second team for the third time to go with two first-team selections (2017, 2022). He has been on the roster in some capacity in each of the last four seasons.

“Lane’s the best offensive lineman in the NFL,” Sirianni said. “I have no doubt about that. I can’t tell you how many times I’m watching the tape and I’m like, ‘Man, this guy is one of the best football players in the world.’”

The second-team nod is Brown’s third, while Carter and Mailata are first-time All-Pro selections.

The Eagles have been busy during awards season.

Six Eagles were named to the Pro Bowl roster on Jan. 2: Barkley, Baun, Carter, Landon Dickerson, Johnson, and center Cam Jurgens.

Additionally, Barkley and Carter were named earlier this week to the third annual Players’ All-Pro Team, which is voted on by NFL players.

The Eagles placed reserve offensive lineman Jack Driscoll on injured reserve Friday and signed veteran Brett Toth to the active roster from the practice squad. Driscoll suffered an ankle injury Thursday and was listed as a limited participant in practice after not being on the injury report Wednesday.

The Eagles also added wide receiver Joseph Ngata to the practice squad. Ngata was on the team’s practice squad last season and was with the team during training camp before being waived with an injury settlement after suffering an ankle injury.

The Eagles play in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.