The Big Sexies

Posted: April 6th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

Sometimes we call offensive linemen Big Uglies. That is meant as a term of endearment of course, but they certainly don’t like it. And they’re not alone. To Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz, there is nothing ugly about the big fellas up front.

Let’s talk about the Eagles OL. Your projected starters:

LT Andre Dillard
LG Isaac Seumalo
OC Jason Kelce
RG Brandon Brooks
RT Lane Johnson

Jason Peters remains a free agent. It has been reported that he wants $10M to sign with someone. That might happen, but it hasn’t yet. While we can’t completely rule out his return, I do expect Peters to play elsewhere in 2020.

If Dillard can be at least an average LT, this should be an excellent offensive line.

As we’ve learned in recent years, a line is only as good as its depth. Big V is gone so the Eagles need some new players to step up.

The top backup at OT right now is Jordan Mailata. We should call him the international man of mystery because we just don’t know what Mailata is right now. He focused on LT in the summer of 2018 and looked very good in preseason action. He didn’t play during the year.

When Dillard arrived last spring, the Eagles had Mailata concentrate on RT. That led to some mixed results.

Mailata is huge, athletic and now has two years of training and development under his belt. There is a lot to like about him.

But he still hasn’t played OT in a regular season game. The Eagles can go with him as the backup, but at the very least, they must challenge him this summer. He cannot be given the job. I love Mailata’s potential, but the #3 OT is a key spot. You need to get that right.

I’m really interested to see what the Eagles do at OT. Just how strongly do they believe in Mailata?

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Matt Pryor got to play some at RG last year and he showed good potential. Jeff Stoutland is a big fan of his.

You see a big guy who can anchor in pass pro and who shows outstanding moments in the run game. He can dominate when he gets up to the second level. His size and power can get the best of DBs and LBs.

I loved Pryor at RT coming out of college, but had questions about  him at OG. He’s developed into a solid backup. He might have starting potential. We haven’t seen enough of him on the field to know if he’ll ever be a guy you want as your starter. I would be comfortable going into 2020 with him as the #3 OG.

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Center is more of a mystery. Nate Herbig is a player the Eagles liked. I thought he was okay, but there was something they found compelling about him. They kept him on the 53-man roster all year long. You don’t do that casually.

I don’t know what the Eagles long term thinking is with Herbig. He played OG at Stanford. The Eagles might like him there. They had him focus on center all last summer. Was that because it was a weak spot on the roster or was it where they want Herbig?

Herbig will turn 22 this summer so he is young and has plenty of time to develop. A lot of people project the Eagles to draft a center because of Jason Kelce’s age (slightly higher than 22), but the team may like Herbig more than we know. We’ll have to see what happens on this one.

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Sua Opeta and Keegan Render are the other OL on the roster right now.

The Eagles thought enough of Opeta to put him on the roster rather than losing him to another team late in the 2019 season. Opeta can play G or C.

Render is a center prospect and is a true long shot.

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The new CBA says the Eagles can have eight OL active on gamedays. That’s huge. They can have the five starters, as well as a backup T, G and C. If there is a blowout, they can think about getting young guys on the field. When you only have seven players, you worry about injuries. That additional backup doesn’t sound like much, but I think it makes a big difference.

It helps that they can have a backup at each spot. In the past you had a backup G/T and a backup C/G. You were less likely to have a project active on gameday. Now you have the luxury to do that. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles use the new rule to help them develop young players even better.

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The Eagles had nine OL on the roster last September. I would expect them to go with 10 this time around.

Rookie OL have been on the roster in 3 of the past 4 years.

2016: Seumalo, Big V

2017:

2018: Pryor, Mailata

2019: Dillard, Herbig, Opeta (midseason)

I would expect the Eagles to find another rookie or two to push for roster spots. Three of the OL starters are older guys. The Eagles need more depth, but also players to develop for the future.

Some people might see the Eagles as desperate for OL depth. That really depends on just how strongly the Eagles feel about Mailata, Pryor and Herbig. The team might be very high on all three guys.

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One Comment on “The Big Sexies”

  1. 1 Songs of love Eagles News: DeSean Jackson says he has an extra chip on his shoulder for 2020 area - Love Songs said at 9:35 AM on April 7th, 2020:

    […] The Big Sexies – Iggles BlitzCenter is more of a mystery. Nate Herbig is a player the Eagles liked. I thought he was okay, but there was something they found compelling about him. They kept him on the 53-man roster all year long. You don’t do that casually. I don’t know what the Eagles long term thinking is with Herbig. He played OG at Stanford. The Eagles might like him there. They had him focus on center all last summer. Was that because it was a weak spot on the roster or was it where they want Herbig? Herbig will turn 22 this summer so he is young and has plenty of time to develop. A lot of people project the Eagles to draft a center because of Jason Kelce’s age (slightly higher than 22), but the team may like Herbig more than we know. We’ll have to see what happens on this one. […]