Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Investing Up Front

Posted July 17th, 2026 | 2 Comments »

I’m currently reading Les Bowen’s excellent Illustrated History of the Philadelphia Eagles. It is a fantastic book. The Eagles have a compelling history and Les is a great storyteller. He covers a lot of ground, but keeps it easy to read, which is the sign of a great writer. Highly recommended.

One thing occurred to me as I went through the 80’s and 90’s. Dick Vermeil had a good OL and got the team to the Super Bowl. Buddy Ryan did not have a good OL and went 0-3 in the postseason. Rich Kotite had a good OL in 1992 and won a playoff game. Ray Rhodes had a mixed OL and won a playoff game in 1995. Andy Reid then made the OL a team strength and had tremendous success, in the regular and postseason.

Good things happen when the Eagles have a good OL.

With Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens seemingly healthy, the Eagles are projected to have the best OL in the NFC. The Eagles should be in good shape this season. What about the future?

Jordan Mailata – 29
Landon Dickerson – will turn 28 in Sept
Cam Jurgens – will turn 27 in Aug
Tyler Steen – 26
Lane Johnson – 36

Mailata, Jurgens and Steen could all start for the next 3 to 5 years if they stay healthy and things work out financially. The Eagles know Dickerson will be retiring in the next year or two. Johnson will probably do the same.

The team hopes Markell Bell is the RT of the future. Drew Kendall could be the LG of the future. Or Micah Morris. But neither is a sure thing. Dickerson was a Top 40 pick. Those guys were mid-round selections. Morris has NFL tools. He just needs to consistently play to his potential. The Eagles also have Myles Hinton, Cameron Williams and Willie Lampkin in the mix. Those guys have all flashed potential. This will be a critical summer for them, to make the team and show they can play at this level. The Eagles know you need more than just five starters. You need depth.

I think the Eagles will target a guard early in the 2027 NFL draft. That doesn’t necessarily mean first round, but likely Day 1 or Day 2. Dickerson’s injury history means he won’t be around long. Steen might not get re-signed when he hits free agency. The Eagles will likely need a talented player to add to the mix.

The thought of having to replace these key players in the short or long term can seem daunting. But it is important to remember that Howie Roseman learned from Reid and believes in building up front, investing in the OL. Roseman successfully replaced a HOF LT in Jason Peters and a HOF center in Jason Kelce. He has replaced multiple Pro Bowl players aside from them.

I’m sure many of you will point to the fact that Jeff Stoutland was instrumental to developing those players. And that is true. He is the best OL coach in team history. But that doesn’t mean the team is lost without him. Chris Kuper might prove to be a good replacement. If not, the Eagles will go looking for someone else. All the while, Roseman will continue to add talent to the OL group. That’s not going to change no matter who the coach is.

I think it is important to realize that the OL doesn’t require HOF players to be good. Eagles fans have been spoiled by having some elite players. They are a luxury, not a necessity. Buffalo and Denver have very good OLs. Neither would appear to have any future HOFers.

There are no guarantees of course, but I think the Eagles will have a good OL as long as Roseman is the GM. The Eagles have an organizational commitment to the OL that goes beyond Stoutland or whoever the head coach is. They invest draft resources up front and then spend big to keep players around as long as they can. If the draft involves too many misses, the team isn’t afraid to go after a top free agent or make a trade for someone. They don’t just hope for the best. The Eagles are proactive and aggressive about finding answers up front.

It will be interesting to see what difference Kuper and Sean Mannion have on the OL, good or bad. We’ve heard a lot of positive things this spring, but the real test will start in the fall.

The focus on the OL isn’t going away and that should help the group to stay good even with a changing lineup in the coming years.

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A Dead Horse

Posted July 15th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

ESPN released their QB rankings and that means it is time for more arguing about Jalen Hurts and where he is ranked. This can feel like a topic that has been beaten to death, but it continues to pop up.

Here are the rankings for QBs. Hurts didn’t get a write-up since he was all the way down at 17th, just after Trevor Lawrence.

Ugh. That is nuts.

To be fair, here is the description for what the rankings are,

“This was not a five-year projection or a career achievement award, but meant to answer a simple question: Who are the best players right now?”

Hurts is coming off a down year so I get him not being too high on the list. But putting him down at 17 just feels wrong. The argument for Hurts is that he didn’t have good coaching last year and the OL had issues that affected the whole offense. The argument against Hurts is that top QBs should be able to overcome tough circumstances. Older fans might remember the 2000 season. Duce Staley went down in Week 5. Donovan McNabb carried the offense on his back and finished second in MVP voting. Hurts wasn’t bad in 2025, but he sure didn’t elevate the offense.

The funny thing is that I don’t know how you completely separate the man from his accomplishments. We’re judging Hurts on last season, but have to ignore everything before that? I get not focusing on the distant past. You can’t judge Aaron Rodgers on what he did 10 years ago. He’s a different player now. Hurts hasn’t changed significantly from 2024 to now. Or even the couple of years before that.

Not bad for a below average QB, right?

None of this really matters. Hurts was ranked ninth last year. That ranking didn’t help him have a good year or win a playoff game. If anything, the low ranking probably helps since it will serve as a motivating factor for a player who is at his best when doubted.

Here are some discussions about Hurts and his ranking.

Most of the media in those videos acknowledge that 17 is too low. I was surprised at the lack of bad hot takes. These are reasonable discussions.

One key point in regard to Hurts is that he didn’t run as much last year. That hurt him. He isn’t an efficient, polished passer. If you limit his running, he’s not the same quality of QB. It will be interesting to see if he runs more this season, realizing what a key part of his game it is.

*****

Other rankings…

Interior OL

Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens didn’t make the Top 15, but did get votes. That seems very reasonable based on how they played last year.

***

WR

DeVonta Smith is down at 21. That is low when you consider he’s below Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Zay Flowers. Adams and Hill are rated highly because of their careers, which is ironic since that isn’t what the sources are supposed to use as criteria. Smith should be higher next year. He has a chance to have a breakout season with AJ gone.

There is no question that Smitty has the talent to be a good WR1.

***

Off-ball LB

4. Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: 10
Age: 29 | Last year’s ranking: 3

Baun is one of the league’s great success stories. Once a part-time player, he parlayed an All-Pro season in Philadelphia into a three-year, $51 million deal during the 2025 offseason. His most recent season showed he was no fluke, producing a second consecutive Pro Bowl performance. Baun was one of two linebackers to appear on every top-10 ballot.

“He’s got lateral quickness and is an incredibly smart player,” an NFL personnel evaluator said. “He’s perfect for Vic’s [Fangio] scheme, can play close to the line and get pressure or can play off the ball.”

Baun was the only player with at least 120 tackles and 10 disrupted dropbacks last season (a disrupted dropback is a sack, interception or batted/defended/tipped pass).

Good ranking. Baun is a Top 5 LB. He does everything well and is very versatile. This is the kind of guy you want in the middle of your defense. He can make plays in the backfield or 30 yards downfield.

I was shocked that Nakobe Dean wasn’t listed at all. Did these people not watch him play last year? Jihaad Campbell even got a vote. Weird.

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