Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Eagles Notebook

Posted May 17th, 2026 | No Comments »

There isn’t a compelling storyline for today so let’s cover a few items of interest. Shortly after I posted my piece on the schedule last week, a few things popped up on Twitter that were interesting.

You would certainly rather have the schedule be harder late in the season when you are running a new offense and have several new coaches. There will be ups and downs in the first month.

The graph from Warren Sharp shows you that the schedule isn’t overwhelming in terms of opponents. I think it was listed as the seventh easiest in the league, based on offseason predictions. We’ll see what happens when the season actually starts.

*****

I mentioned Jason Peters as a possible HOF player yesterday. A few of you wondered why I just said possible and not a sure thing. It feels like it gets harder and harder to make it into the HOF with so many special players in the modern era. There aren’t stats to judge OTs by so you rely on a lot of anecdotal evidence and talking points.

Peters has some competition with other LTs. Tyron Smith was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection and had 2 All-Pro seasons. Terron Armstead was voted to 5 Pro Bowls. Do I think Peters is better than them? Absolutely, but competition can split votes and make it harder to get in. Peters is one of the best OL I ever saw play. He would certainly get my vote, but I don’t have one.

Here is an opinion from an unbiased NFL analyst.

Let’s hope Peters does get in. I just hate to be definitive when I’m not sure about something.

*****

Some of you continue to question why I think the Eagles wanted to go OT in the first round. I studied the evidence available and came to what I felt was a logical conclusion.

The Eagles brought in three OTs with first round grades to Philly for a visit.

Kadyn Proctor
Caleb Lomu
Max Iheanachor

We never got confirmation of Blake Miller or Monroe Freeling visiting. We know they met with both of them at the Combine. Proctor said the Eagles showed a lot of interest in him at the Combine. I’d be shocked if Freeling didn’t visit Philly. His measurables and testing numbers show the kind of critical traits that Howie Roseman wants in his OTs.

We know Howie likes to draft for the future more than the present. He drafted Jason Kelce’s successor with Kelce still playing. He drafted Peters successor with Peters still playing. Howie talked after the draft about how he wants Markel Bell to learn from Lane Johnson.

The Eagles did a ton of work on OTs for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. They wanted options in case things didn’t fall right. It felt like this is the position they focused on more than any other.

They did bring three WRs with first round grades in for visits.

Makai Lemon
Jordyn Tyson
Omar Cooper

Tyson was likely a medical visit. He ended up going 8th overall. Had he fallen, they probably wanted to be comfortable with him. Cooper ended up going 30th. He would likely have been an option if they moved back. They had Lemon as a Top 15 pick and did go through scenarios where he might fall. With his lack of ideal measurables, the Eagles saw a realistic chance where he could fall to a spot where they could afford to trade up for him.

There was better WR depth than OT depth so if the grades were the same, I think they would have gone OT. It is easier to find good receivers than good blockers.

While the Eagles may have wanted an OT, Howie is good at sticking to his board and trusting the months of work and research that goes into it.

*****

Speaking of OL, some of you mentioned Myles Hinton and Cam Williams after yesterday’s piece. Hinton is a complete mystery. He never got on the field last year. He spent the bulk of the season on IR, which meant he couldn’t practice. We know Jeff Stoutland felt strongly about him, but Stout also loved Matt Pryor. Hinton has NFL potential so it will be interesting to see how he does this summer.

Williams also spent most of the season on IR. He did get to play in the regular season finale. While he showed some promise, he also showed key issues. He was effective as a pass blocker based on length and size rather than skill and athleticism. That’s not a winning formula unless you have special size/length like Markel Bell.

Hinton and Williams were both sixth round picks. They face an uphill battle to make the roster, let alone be key role players.

Jordan Mailata
Landon Dickerson
Cam Jurgens
Tyler Steen
Lane Johnson
Fred Johnson
Markel Bell
Drew Kendall
Willie Lampkin

I think those nine guys have the best chance of making the roster. I think rookie Micah Morris might go on as well. He’s got more size at OG than Kendall or Lampkin and the Eagles love big OL.

I hope Hinton and Williams each take big steps forward this summer. If they look really good then Howie would have the luxury of possibly trading someone. We saw flashes from both guys last summer. They need to show real improvement and more consistency this time around. Both could be excellent practice squad candidates. Maybe one of them could develop into the swing tackle for 2027. The Eagles would love to save money and have a young swing tackle instead of paying a Fred Johnson type of player.

*****

Jimmy Bama wrote about Drew Kendall.

He could be the top interior backup this season.

_