Eagles 2025 Draft Preview: The Interior Offensive Line

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles had one of the best offensive lines in the modern history of the NFL last season en route to a Super Bowl LIX championship.

The headliners are on the outside with bookends that include a future Hall of Famer in right tackle Lane Johnson and Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded player in the league last season, left tackle Jordan Mailata.

The interior wasn’t far behind with Pro Center center Cam Jurgens flanked by three-time Pro Bowl selection Landon Dickerson at left guard and the 6-foot-7, 363-pound “runt” of the unit at right guard, successful reclamation project Mekhi Becton.

Moving forward, 80% of that group is back with only Becton leaving in free agency to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Jurgens is in line for a big extension and offseason back surgery seems to be of little concern. It should be noted that Dickerson also had surgery after fighting through part of the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl with a knee injury.

Cam Jurgens heads to the locker room after putting forth a warrior effort in helping the Eagles rout the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

The in-house candidates to replace Becton are third-year player Tyler Steen and this year’s reclamation project, 2022 No. 15 overall pick Kenyon Green.

The insurance policy at RG is versatile veteran Matt Pryor, an Eagles’ 2018 sixth-round pick, who was brought back to the organization after spending four years in Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Last year, with a bad Bears team, Pryor started and played well at guard, but his main value to the Eagles is his four-position versatility as a backup.

You’ll remember Steen was the default setting at RG entering training camp last year when a sprained ankle opened the door for Becton, who pancaked the opportunity. This is likely Steen’s last chance to earn a starting job on the best OL in the business.

Green, acquired in the trade that sent playmaking safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston, obviously has top-tier traits, but his film with the Texans is far worse than Becton’s was with the Jets.

The flyer is that the best offensive line coach in the business, Jeff Stoutland, can put Green back on track. The Eagles did show interest in Green during the 2022 draft process when he was coming out of Texas A&M.

Second-year player Trevor Keegan should also be mentioned after what was essentially a redshirt rookie season. A team leader on a national championship Michigan team, Keegan could emerge quickly with a good summer.

Veteran backup Brett Toth also remains. Stoutland has always liked Toth’s football IQ as a natural tackle who can give you snaps at all five positions in a pinch, as well as his powerful hands.

DRAFT DAY BOTTOM LINE: The Eagles are almost certainly going to add a player who at least has the versatility to play inside at guard, and Stoutland would like to find a more natural backup center.

EAGLES IOL DEPTH CHART:

OC - Cam Jurgens; Brett Toth

LG - Landon Dickerson; Trevor Keegan; Matt Pryor

RG - Tyler Steen; Kenyon Green; Matt Pryor

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ON SI TOP 10 (we asked three former NFL scouts for their top 10 at the position and came up with a cumulative list):

-First Round/Second Round

1. OG Tyler Booker, Alabama

2. OG Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas

3. OG/OC/OT Grey Zabel, North Dakota State

4. OG/OT Donovan Jackson, Ohio State

-Second Round

5. OG Tate Ratledge, Georgia

6. OC Jared Wilson, Georgia

-Second Round/Third Round

7. OG/OT Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona

8. OG/OT Marcus Mbow, Purdue

9. OG Miles Frazier, LSU

-Day 2/Day 3

10. OC Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State

Small School Sleeper - Marcus Wehr, Montana State

Boom or Bust - Tyler Booker, Alabama

BUILDING THE PERFECT IOL

Power/Achor- Tyler Booker, Alabama - Forget about the bull rush against Booker, a player who can sink and stonewall even the strongest pass-rushers. In theory, that kind of power should also translate to the running game if accompanied by sound technique.

Quickness/athleticism - Kelvin Banks, Jr, Texas - Banks has the agility to kick out seamlessly as a run blocker.

Best pass blocker - Banks Jr. - When it comes to mirroring in pass protection, it’s hard to shake Banks.

Best run blocker - Donovan Jackson, Ohio State - Jackson can push people off the ball and is ready-made when it comes to reach blocks and climbing from there.

Instincts - Grey Zabel, North Dakota State - Zabel was arguably the best prospect at the Senior Bowl and is way ahead of the curve in identifying games from the defensive front. He also has five-position versatility and understands the jobs of everyone up front.

EAGLES PRE-DRAFT PROCESS NOTES:

The Eagles have done a ton of homework on the offensive line. The perfect scenario would be OG/OT versatility with the ability to start at RG early and potentially kick out to right tackle when needed, although there is no evidence Johnson is slowing down there.

Jackson was in for a top-30 visit and would be a potential Day 1 starter at RG. He shifted out to left tackle at Ohio State after Josh Simmons was injured last season, but his best position is inside.

Another top-30 was used on Marcus Mbow, who was a tackle in college at Purdue but is projected to move inside at the NFL level.

Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr., a potential first-rounder, and North Carolina State’s Anthony Belton (second-rounder) are both projected to be OTs but could be used inside early in their careers.

The Eagles also brought in a Day 3 interior option in Georgia’s Dylan Fairchild, who is powerful with a significant upside and could project to a backup interior player at all three positions early in his career.

EAGLES POTENTIAL PICKS:

Day 1 - Josh Conerly, Jr., Oregon (will be graded as a tackle); Donovan Jackson, Ohio State

Day 2 - Conerly Jr.; Jackson; Anthony Belton, North Carolina State (will be graded as a tackle); Marcus Mbow (Purdue)

Day 3 - Dylan Fairchild, Georgia

This is going to be a trenches draft for the Eagles, and it would be a surprise if an offensive lineman wasn’t taken in the first two days of the draft.

If that’s Conerly Jr. or Jackson, you’ve got a potential Day 1 starter. If it’s Belton or Mbow, you have a nice template to compete with Steen, Green, and Matt Pryor.

MORE NFL: Eagles 2025 Draft Preview: The Tight Ends