Posted April 30th, 2025 | 3 Comments »The Eagles took Jordan Davis 13th overall back in 2022, hoping he would become a dominant DT. That hasn’t happened. Davis is a good run defender, but hasn’t developed into the level of overall player the team hoped. Because of that, there was some question as to whether the Eagles would pick up his fifth year option.
There is an argument for and against the move. We’ll start with the argument against it. To this point, Davis hasn’t played to a level worth that money. He’s been a part time player. Part of that is conditioning and part is his lack of impact in the passing game. In 47 career regular season games, Davis has played 1,131 snaps. Last year Jalen Carter played in 16 games and was on the field for 831 snaps. That is a drastic difference.
The argument for Davis is that the option is for 2026. He could be a different player by then. Some big guys start slow and then get better. Davis turned 25 in January so he’s just now hitting his prime.
Davis isn’t a bad player. He is a good run defender.
Davis has shown the ability to affect the QB. You see some good flashes from him.
We need to see more. Those flashes tell you the ability is there. Davis must offer more impact on a consistent basis. He needs to be in better shape so he can stay on the field. The other thing to consider is that the salary cap will go up for 2026 so that salary won’t look as bad at that point.
Howie Roseman believes in Jordan Davis. I’m sure part of that is Howie wanting his draft pick to pan out as expected. Howie was confident in Nakobe Dean coming into 2024 and that worked out well. There are no guarantees things will work out the same for Davis. Dean was slowed by injuries. Davis has been healthy.
There is value in keeping Davis around because he’s one of the many Bulldogs on the team. That group is tight-knit. Davis isn’t worth $12.9M because of that, but it does help the argument for him.
If Davis gets better over the next two years, Howie will look smart for keeping a good DL around. If Davis is the same guy, Howie will get a lot of questions about why he’s paying a role player so much money.
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The Eagles are also taking a chance on an undrafted rookie DL.
Rucker is 6-1, 255. He had 38.5 TFLs and 22 sacks in his career at UNC. This guy flies off the ball, bends well and knows how to finish. Shocks me that no one signed him as a UDFA. The Eagles are giving him a tryout at camp this weekend.
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Posted April 29th, 2025 | 2 Comments »The Eagles didn’t spend a high pick on an offensive linemen, but they added some talented players over the weekend. This wasn’t a great OL draft so the smart thing may have been to move down and add multiple guys.
I would have preferred if they drafted Charles Grant or Jalen Travis, but those players got snatched up. The Eagles did add some interesting prospects.
- 5th Round – C/G – Drew Kendall – 6-4, 308
- 6th Round – OT – Myles Hinton – 6-6, 325
- 6th Round – OT – Cameron Williams – 6-6, 334
- Undrafted – OT – Hollin Pierce – 6-8, 341
Let’s take a look at some comments on these players. Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby had some good info.
Drew Kendall
“Three-year starter there, captain of the team, really a leader of that team, which for a center is always something you love to see. Really effective college run blocker down after down. He got his job done on the first level, understood how to fit on the second level and he is a very intelligent player who knew how to put himself in position to execute his job. In the pass game, he is someone who can both mirror laterally, he can adjust, reset, and recover when guys try to attack him on edges and has enough lower-body ballast to anchor when you try to go down the middle. He is another high-character, athletic, tough, smart individual. He can definitely play center and his body type is very common for someone who can play multiple spots.”
Myles HintonÂ
“There is a certain body type that we like at tackle and Myles fits that and for a man that size, he has really good foot and body quickness. I think he can adjust really well and there is a lot that he did in college that I think can translate over to the NFL game. They coached him well at Michigan and he was really effective at what he did. He fits the mold of a lot of things we like in our tackles.”
Cameron WilliamsÂ
“This is a powerful, powerful man. He is very long, he can move people – you will hear (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach) Jeff Stoutland talk about ‘displacement, displacement, displacement’ – and you see that from Cameron whether that’s on an inside zone or a mid-zone. When he strikes you, he can move you. His punch and power are the foundation of his game as a pass protector, too. When he gets his hands on you, the down can be over. He played on a great team there against great competition and I think the exciting piece is that there is a lot of room for him to grow. The developmental upside is real.”
Brandon Thorn evaluates college and NFL O-linemen and does a great job. Here is what he had to say about the Eagles.
Boston College C Drew Kendall – Selected in Round 5 – Late Round 4 Grade
Michigan OT Myles Hinton – Selected in Round 6 – Round 4 Grade
Texas OT Cam Williams – Selected in Round 6 – Round 3 Grade
The Eagles drafted three offensive linemen between rounds five and six. Two of those three (Drew Kendall & Myles Hinton) came from NFL bloodlines with fathers who started a combined 365 games on the offensive line.
Kendall was added for depth at the position behind newly re-signed starter Cam Jurgens. Kendall brings 37 games of starting experience at center predominantly inside a run-heavy, zone-based scheme that is similar to what the Eagles run. He is a sticky run blocker with a firm grasp of leverage, angles and enough play strength to seal off lanes and die slowly in his anchor. This should win him the backup center job outright. Kendall also adds flexibility to the interior in case Jurgens needs to kick back out to right guard if Kenyon Green, Tyler Steen or Trevor Keegan fail to lock down the job.
Williams and Hinton represent two shrewd, high-upside swings at addressing the swing tackle role and adding additional right guard competition. If either hits, they could become the long-term replacement for Lane Johnson after he retires. Both players are massive, easy movers who are inexperienced with underdeveloped, raw skill-sets. They landed in the ideal situation to reach their best possible outcomes as pro players inside Jeff Stoutland’s renowned developmental pipeline.
If you’re on Twitter, you should definitely give Brandon a follow.
As for Hollin Pierce, he wasn’t your standard UDFA signing.
All four of these players have NFL size and ability. History tells us they won’t all pan out. Kendall is the most polished. He was an above average starter at a big school. He’s the son of former Pro Bowl OL.
Hinton has the highest floor, but the lowest ceiling of the OT prospects. He is also the son of an NFL player. Hinton played at Stanford and Michigan, so he got good coaching. He played LT and RT so you like the versatility. One of the knocks on him from a scout was that he didn’t play with enough of a mean streak. Good O-linemen need to be bullies. Your goal is to physically dominate the person across from you. Hinton feels like a good backup to me.
Williams has the highest upside of any of the picks. He is big and strong and talented. He’s also sloppy and inexperienced. As Howie would say, he’s got the tools in his body. If Jeff Stoutland can get Williams to clean up some things and play better on a consistent basis, Williams could be a future starter. You just don’t know if he’ll ever put it all together. Some guys don’t.
Pierce is probably the most interesting of the players. He is the biggest. He’s got the most experience. He could develop into a legit OT. Sometimes that size works against you. Not many 6-8 players pan out in the NFL. It is hard to play with good pad level. You see small edge rushers give Jordan Mailata problems because they can stay low. Those guys will be even tougher on Pierce.
Stoutland has to get Pierce to play with good pad level. He was able to get that out of taller guys like Mailata and Fred Johnson so that makes him a good teacher for Pierce. The potential is certainly there.
Displacement, displacement, displacement.
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