‘It’s a chess game’: Eagles veterans Brandon Graham and Lane Johnson benefit from training camp duels

Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson has a lot of “miles on his car,” according to defensive end Brandon Graham. Eight thousand, four hundred and forty-seven, to be precise.

Over the course of his 10-year NFL career, Johnson has been on the field for 8,447 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. On the bulk of those snaps, Johnson squared up against a plethora of edge rushers on opposing teams. But his most familiar opponent throughout his time in the NFL is his teammate Graham.

Johnson estimates that he’s faced off with Graham in training camps and practices for roughly the same number of snaps he’s accrued in games. Going into their 11th year of practicing against each other, Johnson still finds value in experiencing Graham’s wrath on the edge in one-on-ones and in team drills, giving Johnson the opportunity to fine-tune his pass sets.

“If you can handle a bull rush from BG, nine times out of 10, you can handle a bull rush from most guys in league,” Johnson said Friday, ahead of Sunday’s training camp practice at Lincoln Financial Field.

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The respect is mutual. Graham, the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia going into his 14th season, lauded Johnson for his combined athleticism and “crafty” approach to pass protection. Just when Graham thinks he has Johnson figured out on the first rep, he said, Johnson switches up his technique on the second and throws Graham a curveball.

“Sometimes I stick with my bull, or sometimes I go with an outside swipe because I know he got to put his hands on me, because sometimes he don’t give me his hands,” Graham said. “But that’s what I’m saying, man. It’s a chess game that me and Lane always have played over the years. I think he’s helped me so much because a lot of guys are not like him.”

There aren’t many defensive ends like Graham either, Johnson asserted. Graham is listed at 6-foot-2, 265 pounds, but Johnson claimed that Graham plays like he’s 5-10, 305 — low to the ground and strong.

Johnson said that when he first entered the league in 2013, Graham had plenty of success using his bull rush against him. Johnson quickly realized that he needed to improve his technique, his hand usage, and his overall strength if he wanted to compete with the best.

“He’s one of those guys, man, that if he gets under you when he bull rushes you, he’s going to lift you up,” Johnson said. “So going against the guy like that during training camp teaches me to play at a lower pad level, because any slight mistake or any mishap with your hands, he’s going to bull you back or do his hand swipe off of it.”

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Thousands of battles in practice culminated last season in impressive in-game performances for both players on the road to Super Bowl LVII. At 34 and one year removed from a torn Achilles, Graham relinquished his past duties as a starter and was utilized on rotation. Despite receiving more limited snaps, Graham racked up a career-high 11 sacks, which was tied for ninth in the league.

Meanwhile, Johnson continued to thrive as a starter. He did not allow a sack on his 972 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. As a result, Johnson earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, marking the second and fourth times he’s received those distinctions, respectively.

Now, Graham and Johnson are back at the table for more chess matches, lining up against each other in training camp one-on-one drills. On Friday, Graham attempted to bull rush Johnson yet again, and while he was successful at getting the quarterback to move, Johnson prevented the hit.

But regardless of who comes out on top in any given rep, both players win when they learn something from the encounter. Afterwards, Graham and Johnson like to ask each other questions about what they’re looking at presnap and why they used a particular technique on the rep.

“Having smart players that want to help each other, man, I’m telling you, it goes a long way,” Graham said. “We got a lot of guys on our team, a lot of smart guys on our team. I’m happy that we all share our information, because we’re only trying to help each other.”

Johnson and Graham may have a lot of miles on their respective cars, but they’re still fueled to improve by each other, just as they were over a decade ago.