Making Sense of the Eagles' Offensive Line After Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson Departures

Seventeen years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were at a crossroads.

Their offensive line, the source of their power in the early 2000's, was aging. William Thomas and Jon Runyan were on the downsides of their careers. Shawn Andrews' career was derailed with injuries, and Jamaal Jackson quickly fell out of favor.

For four straight seasons from 2007-2010, the Eagles did not draft a single offensive lineman in the first three rounds. It ultimately led to the group needing to be completely revamped over the following three seasons.

Does this all sound familiar?

It's happening again to the modern Eagles.

Philadelphia has not drafted a single offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the draft since 2023, three complete draft cycles have come and gone since then. Now, the team has seen their All-Pro right tackle retire and their Pro Bowl center traded away for a second-round pick. Injuries to Landon Dickerson have also left the Eagles in the same boat they were in back in 2010: searching for answers from a group that had lost its power.

As the Eagles prepare for the remainder of the season without both Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson, how the offensive line looks will be a central question mark going forward.

And Philadelphia has some young prospects to try to develop in real time.

What to make of Eagles' new offensive line

Here is the current projection of how the offensive line will look when the team takes on Jacksonville on Sunday:

LT: Jordan Mailata
LG: Willie Lampkin
C: Drew Kendall
RG: Tyler Steen
RT: Markel Bell

Far from the All-Pro greats this franchise has been used to.

There is a positive outlook, though. Kendall, Bell and Lampkin are all in their first couple of seasons in the league. This kind of experience will be so important for them and their development in the future. It will also give Howie Roseman a baseline into understanding how much investment the team will need to make going forward along the offensive line.

If the group plays well, the future may be brighter than anticipated. If they struggle, then more draft assets will go to the group.

That's what happens when you lose two Pro Bowlers and are down a third in a three-week span.

"Nothing has changed in terms of our goals," Roseman said. "We're trying to win this year. From my perspective, just looking at what is the ultimate goal, which is to win the last game of the year. And to have a run like we've had. ... You want to have an extended run. My job is to look at how we can have sustained success for a long period of time."

With the youth movement here in Philadelphia for their offensive line, that will be an indication of what the rest of the year looks like. If the group performs well, the team will continue to compete.

If they don't, it's the fast track towards the offseason.

And an end to this era of Philadelphia football dominance.

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