Tackling the OL

Do you remember Shawn Andrews? He might be the most physically dominant offensive lineman the Eagles have ever had. Andrews star-crossed career began back in 2004, when he was the Eagles first round pick. You know who else was a rookie in 2004?

Jason freaking Peters.

It is mind-blowing that Peters is still in the NFL. Andrews hasn’t played since 2010 and that seems like forever ago. Peters just keeps rolling along. Age is catching up to him, but he can still be a dominant player at times.

Some day the Eagles will have to part ways with Peters. Could that be 2019?

During the season, I thought Peters might be headed out. Watching the Eagles go on the playoff run made me re-think things. I think Howie Roseman saw how the Eagles stacked up with playoff competition and that could cause him to go more “win now” than building for the future. I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do, but Roseman tends to be very aggressive. And he will have a strong core of players in 2019.

Trying to figure out the OT position for this season is not easy.

Jason Peters is 37. He missed 9 games in 2017 because of a torn ACL/MCL. While he started 16 games in 2018, he missed time in 10 games due to injury.

Unless the Eagles are convinced that Mailata is the answer (and I don't know how they can be), they must draft a T this year.

— Patrick (@pmc1423) February 18, 2019

Patrick isn’t alone in thinking the Eagles must draft an OT. I disagree.

Lane Johnson is in his prime. He will be your RT for the next five or so years, hopefully more. Halapoulivaati Vaitai is your swing tackle for 2019. He can backup either spot or start if needed.

Jordan Mailata is the wild card. He has proven nothing in the NFL, but has immense talent. If the Eagles spend an early pick on an OT, they would be affecting Mailata’s future. With his size and athletic ability, he projects to LT. If Mailata does pan out, how do you play him, Johnson and an early draft pick?

If you draft someone who is a G/T prospect, you could slide that person inside to LG and then eventually move Isaac Seumalo to C.

If the Eagles do bring Peters back this year, they have the luxury of not needing to force a pick on an OT. Big V could still be the primary backup this year. You could see Mailata’s progress and have a better feel for his future. There are no guarantees that he will pan out at all, but the Eagles have a lot of confidence in him.

Let’s say 2020 rolls around. Peters retires. Mailata is still a question mark. The Eagles could draft an OT early and plug him into the lineup.

I know LT is one of the most critical positions in football so you don’t want to take chances there. I also know OL isn’t a position where you rotate players. Stockpiling OL talent is different than stockpiling DL talent.

If the Eagles fall in love with an OT and draft him at 25 or in the second round, I can live with that. I do not think they should feel obligated to draft an OT this year. Peters, Johnson, Vaitai and Mailata might give you the best set of OTs in the league. And don’t forget that Seumalo can always play outside. That’s a lot of depth and options.

There is even another option. The Eagles could consider playing Matt Pryor at RT in the future and moving Johnson to the left side. Pryor is a complete unknown, but a player that Jeff Stoutland seemed to like quite a bit.

The Eagles could always spend a mid-to-late round pick on an OL prospect this year. Lane Johnson and Tra Thomas were high first round picks. Jon Runyan was a mid-round pick. Peters was a UDFA. Not all OTs have to come from the first round.

Roseman and the Eagles believe in building up the lines on both sides of the ball. They know the importance of good line play and protecting their franchise QB. It will be interesting to see if they go after an OT early or focus on other spots and make that less of a priority this year. That will give us a real hint as to what they think of the future of the OL. After all, actions speak louder than words.

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