Eagles players talk about the best players they've ever faced

I asked 17 Eagles players who the best player they ever faced was. Here are their answers:

Brandon Graham: Tyron (Smith). Oooooooh, that boy is a brick wall. Long arms, big boy, I mean he nice, man. He definitely brings it out of you. If you call yourself the best you gotta go against him. He's up there with (Jason) Peters.

Fletcher Cox: That kid from Dallas. (Tyron Smith)

Cedric Thornton: Two years ago I played this guy from New Orleans, a guard. (Jahri) Evans. He never quit, and he was teaching me the game as I was playing. He was telling me what I was going to do. He definitely made it hard on me, and it was on Monday night.

Trent Cole: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, just the sheer way they control the offense at the line scrimmage. (On the offensive line), Chris Samuels and what'cha'call'it from the Seattle Seahawks, Walter Jones. They were just calm. They played like pros. They were smart. A guy like Walter Jones, he stayed quiet, didn't say nothing, and you think you're gonna beat him up, and you think you get past him and that right arm is on your hip where you think you got past him, but he's like "BAM!" and he's on you. Chris Samuels was just an athlete. We always battled but he was a good guy. He gave me one of his signed helmets at the Pro Bowl.

DeMeco Ryans: Peyton. His knowledge. We could be at our best against him in the first half, but (in the second half) with his memory, he could remember what defense we were in, and he could pick people apart with just the simplest things.

Jason Kelce: My rookie year against Jay Ratliff. That was the hardest game for me, I would say. I don't think he's the same player that he used to be when he was in his prime, but he had the full package – speed, power, explosion.

Jason Peters: I'm going to say Dwight Freeney. He was a smaller guy who had the power to bull rush you. When you played soft on him, he would bull rush you, and when you're aggressive, he would spin.

Evan Mathis: There are a few I've gone against who are in the same realm. The guys that come to mind are Geno Atkins, Justin Smith, and Gerald McCoy.

Todd Herremans: Probably Albert Haynesworth when he was in Tennessee. I was still a young guard, I think it was my first year playing guard, and it was his first game off of his suspension, so I got the fresh Albert, and I was still a little green behind the ears playing guard. So it was an eye-opening experience for me there. (Note: When asked about the Redskin version of Big Al, Herremans said, "No.")

Brent Celek: Probably DeMarcus Ware. When he's good he's good. He's strong, big, physical, fast, quick. He's got everything.

Jeremy Maclin: I played Nnamdi my rookie year when he was in Oakland. He's just long, man. 6'2, didn't have crazy speed, but was really good at press. Obviously that was when he was in Oakland. I played Revis when he was  in New York. Revis was still up there. I haven't played Sherman yet. I'm a big fan of Patrick Peterson. If you were to ask me who's the best in the league, I'd probably say Patrick Peterson.

Donnie Jones: Patrick Peterson. Yeah, hands down. In 2011 it was within three weeks, both in November, I'm sure you remember the overtime in Arizona, when he caught it on the goal line, returned it for a TD and beat us (the Rams).Then he did it again two or three weeks later. He's the first name that comes to mind obviously, because he took two back on us in the same year. And he's an LSU guy.

Malcolm Jenkins: Calvin Johnson. My first NFL play I was one on one against Calvin Johnson, and 60 yards later he stepped out of bounds at the three yard line.

Bradley Fletcher: Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, just with their size and catchability. With their catch radius, they can use their height and their jumping ability. When you play guys like that those jump balls are hard to play.

Brandon Boykin: Calvin Johnson, but I think eventually the best receiver in the league is going to be AJ Green. In the next two or three years, he's going to surpass Calvin as the best receiver. They're both just big as heck and athletic, but I think AJ is more versatile. He's faster, his route running is really good, and he can really just catch the ball better than anyone I've ever seen.

Cary Williams: Andre Johnson. Best all around receiver I've faced in the NFL. He can run, block, catch away from his body, run good routes. He's that type of guy.

Nolan Carroll: Julio Jones. He was always reacting to the way I was playing him. If I tried to quick jam him, or try to be patient at the line with him, or try to be aggressive with him, he always had a strategy for it. It's kind of frustrating when a big guy like that can do the things that he does.

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski