Social media maven Evan Mathis is quite hilarious as he calls himself among other things a sit-down comedian, but the guard doesn't joke around when he's on the field.
After a season in which Mathis played all 1,104 offensive snaps and earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career, the 10th-year veteran was named by his peers as the 88th-best player in the NFL.
"When he grabs you, there's no getting out of it," said Buccaneers All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. "He's great at hand position. He gets his hands inside and once he has you, it's a tight squeeze. You're not going anywhere."
Mathis was one of the five Eagles offensive linemen who started all 16 regular season games in 2013. The offensive line paved the way for NFL rushing leader LeSean McCoy, who rushed for a franchise-record 1,607 yards. In addition, the Eagles set team records for points (442) and total yards (6,676).
Signed by the Eagles as a free agent in the middle of Training Camp in 2011, Mathis has been a fixture on the offensive line ever since starting 47 out of a possible 48 games over the past three seasons.
Even though Mathis is finally earning league-wide acclaim for his performance, he has graded out as one of the top players in the entire league by Pro Football Focus each year since his arrival in Philadelphia. This past season, Mathis was the NFL's top guard overall as well as the top run-blocking guard, per PFF.
"I'm happy he got his due," said Packers defensive end Mike Daniels. "He made it to the Pro Bowl this year. He got some All-Pro honors. He's definitely deserving."
