After previewing both teams separately over the course of the week, we can now throw the rankings together and see what the ideal lineup will look like. A pretty even mix of Patriots and Eagles, and the thought that it will be a closely contested Super Bowl where the Patriots are rightly favored, but the Eagles should make a game of it.
Probably the most significant thing that could change between now and kickoff nine days from now is the status of Rob Gronkowski. Sidelined with a concussion in the AFC Championship game, he's remained unable to practice thus far. There's a process to the protocol he needs to work through, and this isn't gamesmanship by the Patriots or whatnot. He needs to be cleared by independent doctors.
Most likely, that will happen in the next few days, but it's not certain. The rankings below assume he'll play. If by the middle of next week that looks unlikely, we'll rework everything, assigning his production to other players. His absence, if it plays out that way, would result in more targets for New England's wide receivers, and they'd move up. (When Gronkowski missed two games during the season, New England's other tight ends did nothing, so they won't become more appealing.)
| SUPER BOWL PLAYER PROJECTIONS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Tm | Player | Pass | Rec | Run | Tot | TD | Pts |
| QB | NE | Brady | 282 | 0 | 2 | 284 | 2.40 | 23.8 |
| QB | PHI | Foles | 248 | 0 | 4 | 252 | 1.78 | 20.2 |
| TE | NE | Gronkowski | 0 | 66 | 0 | 66 | .72 | 10.9 |
| RB | PHI | Ajayi | 0 | 10 | 61 | 71 | .42 | 9.6 |
| TE | PHI | Ertz | 0 | 68 | 0 | 68 | .45 | 9.5 |
| RB | NE | Lewis | 0 | 23 | 54 | 77 | .26 | 9.3 |
| WR | PHI | Jeffery | 0 | 63 | 0 | 63 | .43 | 8.8 |
| WR | NE | Cooks | 0 | 57 | 1 | 58 | .43 | 8.4 |
| PK | NE | Gostkowski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .00 | 7.5 |
| WR | PHI | Agholor | 0 | 43 | 1 | 44 | .40 | 6.8 |
| D/ST | PHI | Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .20 | 6.8 |
| PK | PHI | Elliott | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .00 | 6.6 |
| WR | NE | Amendola | 0 | 43 | 0 | 43 | .38 | 6.5 |
| RB | NE | Burkhead | 0 | 20 | 20 | 40 | .30 | 5.8 |
| D/ST | NE | Patriots | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .15 | 5.7 |
| WR | NE | Hogan | 0 | 40 | 0 | 40 | .29 | 5.7 |
| RB | NE | White | 0 | 26 | 13 | 38 | .27 | 5.4 |
| WR | PHI | T.Smith | 0 | 38 | 0 | 38 | .18 | 4.8 |
| RB | PHI | Blount | 0 | 1 | 28 | 29 | .22 | 4.2 |
| RB | PHI | Clement | 0 | 15 | 15 | 30 | .17 | 4.0 |
| TE | PHI | Burton | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | .07 | 1.0 |
| TE | NE | Allen | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | .05 | .9 |
| WR | PHI | Hollins | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | .04 | .7 |
| TE | PHI | Celek | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | .05 | .6 |
| QB | PHI | Sudfeld | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .04 | .4 |
| RB | PHI | Barner | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .01 | .4 |
| WR | NE | Dorsett | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .02 | .4 |
| RB | NE | Develin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .03 | .4 |
| RB | NE | Bolden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .01 | .2 |
| QB | NE | Hoyer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .00 | .2 |
| TE | NE | Hollister | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .01 | .2 |
| WR | NE | Britt | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .01 | .2 |
| WR | NE | Slater | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .00 | .0 |
| RB | NE | Gillislee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .00 | .0 |