Eagles draft outlook: Offensive tackle
With Winston Justice and Jason Peters signed for several years to come, are the Eagles set at offensive tackle? Or will they be looking to pick one up in the draft?
Eagles draft outlook: Offensive tackle
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
If you're a draft junkie in the Philadelphia area, be sure to join us at McFadden's next Tuesday night for a special event. Should be a lot of fun.
Over the next 10 days, I'll go position-by-position, taking a look at the Eagles' current roster, in an attempt to determine where their biggest draft needs are.
First up is offensive tackle.
The situation: The Eagles are set with their starting right and left tackles for years to come. Winston Justice showed last season he can start on the right side, and the Eagles rewarded him with a contract extension that runs through 2013. Is Justice a finished product at 25 years old? No. He still needs to improve. But considering how he stepped up last season, it's reasonable to believe he will get better.
Almost exactly one year ago, the Eagles dealt for left tackle Jason Peters and awarded him with a six-year deal. Two things about his 2009 campaign: One, he did not live up to Andy Reid's billing as the best left tackle in the league. Two, there's no denying that the Eagles were better with him on the field than with one of his replacements. Peters was up and down, and it doesn't help that he had one of his worst games of the year in the playoff loss to the Cowboys. However, he showed flashes of being the kind of player the Eagles pictured him to be when they traded for him.
Depth: There are a lot of question marks here. Last season, when Peters went down, it was Todd Herremans sliding over to left tackle and the Eagles bringing in a reserve to play guard (Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles and Stacy Andrews all rotated in at various times). But will the Birds have the same luxury this year? If Cole is counted on to fill in for Jamaal Jackson at center, and Herremans slides over to tackle, the team would have to count on a guard combo of Jean-Gilles and and Andrews. Far from ideal.
Andrews is a key here. When he arrived, most penciled him in as the right tackle. Instead, he was moved to guard and had a disastrous first season in Philadelphia. His health and performance will be a major factor in determining how flexible the Eagles are when a lineman goes down with an injury. Will he be good enough to start at right guard? Will he be good enough to provide depth there? What about tackle? Could he fill in if needed? Those are the questions that will need to be answered.
The only other tackles on the roster are King Dunlap and Fenuki Tupou. Dunlap, a seventh-round pick in 2008, will be entering his third season. It was obvious last season that the coaching staff did not think he was capable of being a contributor, or he likely would have gotten in the games when Peters was out. Tupou was a fifth-round pick last season, who was placed on injured reserve in September.
My take: The Eagles have bigger holes than offensive tackle, but the last thing they want is to be stuck in a major bind should Peters or Justice go down, especially with a young quarterback taking over. Sliding Herremans over is OK, but it makes them weaker at two positions. Ideally, the Eagles would be able to bring in a reserve tackle and leave Herremans at left guard, should Peters go down.
We'll throw the old "best player available" caveat into all these posts, because for the most part, it holds true. That being said, I would be surprised if the Eagles went offensive tackle in the first round, but it really wouldn't shock me to see them draft one after that. Again, several factors go into this: how they feel about the current players on the roster (mentioned above), how they have the tackle prospects graded, and when those guys go off the board. The Eagles have drafted a tackle in five of the last six seasons, and addressing their depth here is a good idea.
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Not sure if you need to spend a high pick on a tackle but you definitely need more depth than what we have.
Comment removed.
tombrookshire, I find it hard to trust Jamal to come back healthy enough to be good enough to solidify the middle of the line for the start of the season.— The Reddgie- Should the versatile, Mike Iupati be available or traded up for, take him. Iupati is smart, fast and strong. He can play both guard and tackle, with a serious mean streak which Eagles fans crave. Then there are a number of safeties and defensive back whom can improve the defense, it all rests on the braintrust to do their job(s).— AJW2009
- Let's not forget that the birds draft Tackles to fill both Tackle and Guard positions, so if they have a need at guard they are likely to draft a tackle who they think can play both well.
If Pouncey is there when the Eagles pick, he should be #1 on their draft board, unless someone they have rated top 10 drops because of a run on a certain position. Drafting Pouncey would solve their short term problems at O line more so than a tackle would. Pouncey can play center or guard and start his first season. Herrimans can play any O line spot except center. Flexibility with your personnel like that is highly sought after because injuries happen. If Pouncey is not there at pick #24, pick the best defensive player on the board. The Eagles need corner, safety, LB and D line help. In fact, they should use 4 of their first 5 picks on D. There will be a run on left tackles like there always is, the Eagles have too many needs to reach for anybody with their 1st round pick. That pick has to be someone who will play and contribute now, not be a project for the future. The tackles who will be there when they pick are going to be guys like Charles Brown. Big time talent and upside, but a little undersized at present (300 lbs), and will not be able to dislodge Jason Peters or even Winston Justice his first year. Another O lineman I like for the Birds is a guy named Vladamir Ducasse out of U Mass. He will be there in the 2nd round with that Washington pick, will probably not be there by the end of the 2nd when they use their own pick. He is a big bruising G/T and might be an upgrade over Justice with a year as a backup under his belt.- Some depth at Center seems to be more urgent than offensive tackle. Defensive Line has more needs,too. If Reid makes game plans that have more runs, the entire O-line will benefit. Pass protect-pass protect-pass protect-punt protect is no life for an offensive lineman. They want to lay-out some defenders...can't do that in pass protection mode.— Smashmouth
- i foresee this draft being very similar to the lito draft year. it's very likely that they'll address defensive starters early and often this year and draft for offensive depth in the later rounds.— stevexmartin
Why do the Eagles have so much trouble developing the offensive lineman they drafted. I cringe when it's mentioned that they may draft a lineman because, like the article says, they drafted a tackle in 5 of the last 6 drafts and look where that's gotten them -- thin at that position.— ej610- ajcash: It should tell everyone, not just you, what they plan to select in Round 1 - CB. And there are 3: Haden (FL), Kyle Wilson (Boise St.), and Kareem Jackson (ALA). It is impossible to "know" which tops the Eagles' board. It's a safe bet it's not Jackson. Between Haden and Wilson, there is a HUGE speed/agility/strength gap, with no gap in technique. That leads me to guess that Wilson tops their board at the CB position, regardless of draft pick#. Plus, there is a huge difference in salary between top 15 and top 25. You create a draft need if you think the rookie is better than the veteran. Plus, the Eagles' opinion of Ellis Hobbs is much different than the fans'. People around here forget that Ellis Hobbs was Sheldon Brown's equal when the Pats went to the SB. And he didn't morph into "average" upon arrival in Philly. The Eagles are taking a CB in Round 1 - no doubt. They'll take the one they think is BEST - and don't count on them trading UP for a corner (Haden) who runs above 4.5/40 yd., especially when a CB who runs 4.38 (and lifts 225 lbs. more reps (25) than DT Gerald McCoy (23)!!!) is available lower down in Round 1. 1+1+1 = 3. KYLE WILSON 2010!— montgomeryhopkins
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