Only a fool or a bore would suggest that the Eagles should draft an offensive lineman ... right? | David Murphy
Out in Kansas City, Andy Reid has rebuilt his offensive line in one offseason. There's a strong argument to be made that the Eagles should follow suit.
There are all sorts of people who you don’t want to be at a party. You don’t want to be the person who shows up empty handed. You don’t want to be the person who calculates the carbon footprint of the taco dip. And, above all else, the person you absolutely, positively do not want to be is the person who thinks the Eagles should draft an offensive lineman.
Wide receivers are cool. Linebackers are cool. Heck, we live in a world where even drafting tight ends is cool. An offensive lineman? That’s like drafting broccoli, or a pair of socks, or a Dodge Caravan. The guy who thinks the Eagles should do that is the guy who spends all night explaining to you why the music sucks. His favorite food is hummus and his favorite movie is The Tree of Life. If he could eat dinner with any three people from history they would all be Marie Kondo.
Me? I would never be that guy, especially not this year. With the No. 12 overall pick and plenty of capital to move up, the Eagles could be in position to draft a game-breaking receiver, or a shutdown corner, or maybe even a quarterback. I’m not going to sit here and argue that what they really need is some blockers.
Although ....
I could make that argument. You know, just for fun. I’m not saying I’m That Guy, just that he might have a point.
He’d probably start by questioning whether anybody in this town actually remembers last season, or if their brains have warehoused it away with all of their other past traumas. He’d do this in a manner of loving kindness, empathetically noting that the repression of pain is a natural coping mechanism. Like new mothers, if we fully remembered the pain that was the 2020 Eagles offensive line, we wouldn’t even think about having another.
At the same time, it doesn’t do any good to fool ourselves into thinking that life is easier than it is. Your house will never pass inspection if you keep repairing a structure built on a faulty foundation. The foundation of every NFL offense is its offensive line, and if the Eagles get a repeat of 2020, they are bound to be condemned.
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The Eagles offensive line wasn’t just bad. It was a historic abomination. Caron Wentz was sacked on 10.3 percent of his drop backs, the 10th highest total in league history and the third highest since 2003 (DeShaun Watson in 2018 and Blake Bortles in 2014). The guy who replaced him didn’t fare much better. Jalen Hurts was sacked on 8.1 percent of his drop-backs - 13 times in four games -- despite his elite ability to scramble out of pressure. He handled the ball 224 times between pass attempts, rush attempts and sacks. Of them, 13 resulted in a fumble or interception (Wentz: 25 times in 539 touches). Even poor Nate Sudfeld was sacked twice on 12 pass attempts.
The story was the same in short yardage situations, where Eagles running backs gained first downs on just seven of their 13 carries on third or fourth and two or fewer yards. Their short yardage backs were their quarterbacks, and that’s a problem.
There are plenty of ways that the Eagles can rationalize spending their limited offseason capital on more exciting investments. As long as Lane Johnson’s reconstructed ankle is not a harbinger of things to come, they should have their All-Pro right tackle for at least four or five more seasons. Before Brandon Brooks ruptured his Achilles last season, he’d missed just six games in his seven years as an NFL starter. As for Jason Kelce, the annual speculation about potential retirement shouldn’t cloud the fact that he is still only three years older than Johnson, and two older than Brooks, and that he hasn’t missed a start since the 2014 season. Factor in Andre Dillard, Isaac Seumalo, Jordan Mailata, Jack Driscoll and Nate Herbig and the Eagles have plenty of young, improving players waiting in the wings.
It’s fine to hope for the best, but at a position as critical as the offensive line, it’s always best to prepare for the worst. Brooks is coming off his second Achilles rupture in three years (he recovered from the first one in an offseason). Kelce is an undersized player who has absorbed unimaginable wear-and-tear. Even if Johnson remains a fixture at right tackle, the Eagles line could easily find itself without another elite player. Seumalo isn’t a dominant player. Mailata remains an enigma. Dillard does not appear to be good. Which is the more likely scenario for the next three years: everything breaks right, or everything breaks wrong?
That’s a daunting thought for a team that has poured plenty of draft capital into the skill positions over the past five years. Wentz, Hurts, and Jalen Raegor were first round picks. Miles Sanders, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Dallas Goedert all went in the second. During the same time period, the Eagles have drafted just one lineman in the Top 70. Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith, Jamarr Chase – none of these guys will be much of a help if their quarterback does not have the time he needs to throw them the ball. A faulty offensive line robs every other position of value.
At some point, the Eagles are going to need an offseason like the one Andy Reid just had. Even Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce couldn’t muster more than nine points in a Super Bowl in which the Chiefs could not block. Reid responded by signing All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, trading for 24-year-old tackle Orlando Brown, and coaxing Kyle Long out retirement. Keep in mind, this was a Super Bowl team, not one that finished 4-11-1. But Reid has always been a guy who knows where his bread is buttered.
Now is as good a time as any for the Eagles to rebuild their front. If their scouts see a potential long-term starter in Christian Darrisaw or Rashawn Slater or Alijah Vera-Tucker, they should add him to the mix at No. 12. If they have a shot at Penei Sewell, they should absolutely shoot. If they can leverage their assets more creatively, then now is the time to create.
Given that every draft brings a new crop of playmakers, and that every playmaker is dependent on his offensive line, doesn’t it make sense to build the offensive line first?
Maybe I am the guy who thinks what That Guy thinks.