Examining the NFC East: The Offensive Line
PHILADELPHIA - Our annual series examining the NFC East from a positional perspective with the help of league personnel sources continues with the offensive line, a potential strength for the Eagles.
You don't have to look back very far, however, to realize how quickly a perceived strength can turn into a weakness in the NFL.
Serious injuries to Brandon Brooks (Achilles'), Andre Dillard (torn biceps), and Lane Johnson (multiple ankle surgeries), and lesser but still significant issues with Isaac Seumalo (knee) and then-rookie Jack Driscoll (knee) were the lowlights in a historic run of attrition that forced the Eagles to use a record number of O-Line combinations in 2020.
Many things contributed to what was a 4-11-1 season during Doug Pederson's last year at the helm. If you wanted to autopsy the disastrous campaign, though, the cause of death signed off upon would be the issues on the offensive line, albeit with significant co-morbidities.
Fast forward to 2021 and most national observers aren't expecting much out of Philadelphia under rookie head coach Nick Sirianni and a first-year starting quarterback in Jalen Hurts.
If one starts at the agreed-upon over/under number of 6.5 wins, according to most bookmakers, the end game for overachievement vs. underachievement is likely going to be the offensive line.
If the Eagles have Johnson, Brooks, All-Pro center Jason Kelce, Seumalo, and the winner of the left tackle competition between Andre Dillard and Jordan Mailata on the field the majority of the time, things are going to go better than expected. After all, if you can block people in the NFL you have a chance to do things offensively.
Lane Johnson struggled with a left ankle injury all season after having surgery in August
USA Today
“I think [Hurts has] got a better team around him than other people do,” former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker told SI.com's Eagle Maven. “I mean, look at the offensive line, if Brandon and Lane are healthy, it’s a top-10 line all day.”
As for the division as a whole similar things are being said in Dallas where the Cowboys will get back All-Pro level players like Tyron Smith and Zack Martin as well as a top-tier right tackle in La'el Collins.
Here's how the NFC East shapes up when it comes to the O-lines:
No. 4 - New York Giants: The Giants O-Line has been an issue for years now and the team still hasn't done enough to make Daniel Jones feel comfortable.
The hope is that the start-up costs on left tackle Andrew Thomas - the fourth overall pick in 2020 - are out of the way and significant talent will turn into significant production.
The Giants will also get back veteran Nate Solder, who opted out last season, and will serve as insurance for Thomas and potential right tackle Matt Peart, a 2020 third-round pick, who played well in limited snaps as a rookie.
The real issues are on the interior where Will Hernandez and Shane Lemieux are penciled in around pedestrian center Nick Gates. Zach Fulton will also be in the mix inside
"The interior just isn't good enough," a former AFC personnel executive said. "I think you can make do with Hernandez but they spent too much time thinking about receivers."
No. 3 - Washington Football Team: Washington’s offensive line was solid a season ago despite cobbling things together at left tackle, but you wonder if it can continue to hold up on the edges where it was once Trent Williams and Morgan Moses.
Former Bears tackle Charles Leno is probably a little underrated at LT as a whole and should be an upgrade from 2020, albeit a far cry from what Williams once was. The team surprisingly moved on from Moses, perhaps cementing a spot for 2021 second-round pick Samuel Cosmi. Cornelius Lucas shapes up as the swing tackle and insurance if Cosmi isn't ready.
Right guard Brandon Scherff remains one of the best in the NFL and is an elite pass protector. Center Chase Roullier has been consistently improving and it's fair to call him a top-10 player at the position now. The left guard will likely be a battle between Wes Schweitzer and Ereck Flowers.
"I would call it a solid line," an AFC scout said. "Leno is better than people think and so is the center. It's not Dallas or Philly from a talent perspective but probably a more durable group."
No. 1B - Dallas Cowboys: When healthy Smith is arguably the best left tackle in the NFL and he'll return after playing just 154 snaps last season. That said, Smith hasn't played a full season since 2015, so, like the Eagles, the Cowboys will be crossing their fingers with a player you have to assume is going to miss at least some time.
At right tackle, Collins returns after missing the entire 2020 due to hip surgery. Prior to that, he was among the game's best at the position and a dominant road-grader. At right guard Martin is going to Canton one day, a six-time All-Pro who is right behind another Notre Dame product - Indianapolis' Quenton Nelson - when it comes to the best OGs in football.
Left guard Connor Williams developed nicely in 2020 and is now regarded as a top-20 OG in the league while the weak spot remains center where the Cowboys have struggled to try to replace Travis Frederick.
Joe Looney and then-rookie Tyler Biadasz struggled last season and the Cowboys are planning on Biadasz, a better run blocker than pass protector, winning the gig in 2021.
Like the Eagles, the silver lining to the injuries last season were the reps young OTs like Brandon Knight and Terrence Steele got and the Cowboys bolstered that by asking veteran Ty Nsekhe as a swing tackle.
"Smith isn't what he once was as the top LT [in the NFL]," a former NFC scout said, "but Collins is really good and Martin is one of the best ever. The key is center. If they can figure that out, it's going to be really good in Dallas."
No. 1A - Philadelphia Eagles: You can't just assume Brooks and Johnson will be out there for 17 games with their injury histories and the fact both are on the wrong side of 30, but you can't assume they won't be, either.
Both players insist they are ready to go and feel very good and both are a full-go for training camp. Add in the depth after players like Mailata and Nate Herbig were forced into action in 2020 and it's conceivable the Eagles could have the No. 1 offensive line in football from both a performance and depth perspective.
You could sense the excitement from Jeff Stoutland, who eschewed an opportunity to return to Alabama for the chance to be one of a few bridge coaches between Pederson and Sirianni.
"There are all kinds of things that happen when the game starts. All kinds of things start – movement, backers running downhill fast, the game is so much faster, blah, blah, blah," the veteran O-Line coach explained to Si.com's Eagles Maven. "But when it actually happens on the film and you see Sua Opeta, and you see Jordan Mailata in the New York Giants game – and they have good D-linemen; they’re big and long – and you see those two guys come whistling off the ball and knocking guys back and putting them on their back, and then Boston Scott is running right in behind them for a 7, 8-yard gain.
"And they’re executing technique and they’re surfacing the block the way I teach it to them. That’s freaking awesome. I just feel so good about that. There’s more that happened (last) year with some of these young guys."
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John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
