Lane Johnson Suddenly Feels Like Smallest Man In Eagles O-Line Room

The Philadelphia Eagles brought in three young tackles and the right tackle likes what he has seen from them.

Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson goes through practice after clearing concussion protocol entering Week 6 of the 2024 season. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - Lane Johnson is at that age where some people notice a slight decrease in their height, according to certain medical research. Usually, it doesn’t happen until around the age of 40.

It’s not likely Johnson, who turned 35 in May, is shrinking yet. It’s just the people around him in the offensive tackle room are not just getting younger, but bigger.

“They’re big,” said Johnson. “Everybody’s big. …When you look at our room and the size that we have in that room, when I’m one of the smaller guys in that room, that’s impressive, and that’s how it really is.”

There are draft picks Myles Hinton, who is 6-6, 323, Cameron Williams, who is 6-5, 317, and undrafted free agent Hollin Pierce, who is 6-8, 341. Johnson is still bigger, or at least bigger, at 6-6, 325. And he’s better. Still.

The right tackle believes he is just now reaching his peak.

“I’m 35 and I feel like I’m better than when I was 29, 30,” he said. “I had the surgeries, so the the games I missed in (20)21, you can clearly see on film I was very hindered with my left foot. Now, I feel like I’m getting close to maybe my peak. As weird as it is to say, that’s truly how I feel.”

Maybe someday Hinton, Williams, or Pierce will be as good as Johnson. The Eagles would be lucky if at least one of them get there. So far, Johnson likes what he has seen from them – size aside.

“In the meeting rooms and coaches are asking questions about what is this, what is that, they’re very smart, they’re in tune,” he said. “They’ve been a lot of fun so far. I know they’re excited for camp. When they arrived to where they are now, they’ve picked things up really quickly. It makes it an easier transition from here to camp.”

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