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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Look for the Birds to make Strong push for Mike Iupati, I think this guy will be a real mauler on the O line. He has so much potential and could set this O line up to Be Great for many years to come
1 - Free Safety, 1A - Cornerback(s), 2 - Strongside Linebacker, 3- Left Defensive End, 4 - OL Depth/Center.— dpcoz- They may try and get back in the First round with Wash(2nd) and third rounder and player... perhaps to get Kareem Jackson DB from Alabama. He might be a real steal for the Birds if he drops or they can pull of a trade. With their other second maybe, Major Wright or Nate Allen at FS.. This defense would be instantly better with players of that caliber.
- With Sheldon gone, the need for a corner just became a priority. You can't go into the season with Joselio Hanson starting. They could get a good tackle/guard in the second round.— Philadel12
- dp..was that your draft order or AR's? Cause you know the big man is NOT going to draft an LB before the fourth....— tjpup
- With the first two picks, 24 and 37, they have to go OL and DB, in either order. It is going to be a crazy draft compared to others, with the 1st and 2nd rounds being seperated, and teams moving and trading all over the place. And with the draft being deep, you might get 1st round talent with Wash's 2nd rd'er, or trade it with somebody who might be willing to move up to get it. I think they should take Pouncey, can play center and guard, and then best DB available with next two picks. Or move up and get Earl Thomas, let Mikell play SS, and take BPA then on out.— Bleue
dp nailed the needs, but order is up for debate. We all know the 'best guy available' rule is more true in football than other games- but I think if you limit your board to those 5 positions and take best at each as it comes the Birds can fix a lot of holes in this draft. I think corner becomes TOP priority right after they unload Asante "what me tackle?" Samuel.- I hope they consider Darryl Clark if he's on the board with a sixth or seventh rounder. He's big, strong, and mobile, and to me, anyway, always seemed like he was a good decision maker at PSU. I wonder if they have any faith in Ikegwounu to make an impact as a fourth CB this year...if not, then they need an early CB without injury issues who they can count on to be on the field and contributing on 20 % of plays. Hobbs will be the starter, with Hanson as slot/#3.— B in DC
There will almost certainly be a very good O-lineman available in the first round. If Iupati and Pouncey are gone, they will probably take a tackle (they like to move tackles to guard, then back out after they prove they can play in the NFL). I think they already addressed DE with Tapp and DB with Jackson, and the return of Hobbs, plus Macho and Demps have another season under their belts. Linebacker is the next biggest need on the team and there are a lot of good LB's that should be there in the 2nd round.- B in DC.....Ikegwounu i think was waived back in Nov— Bones
Comment removed.- Wow...I totally missed that. So I guess the answer to my Ikegwuonu question is "no". I guess I just figured he was inactive as usual.— B in DC
- I'm with Bleue, OL (Pouncey from Florida) and DB, without a doubt, should be the first two picks. You cannot depend on Jackson being healthy, and Cole isn't the answer at center. Pouncey can start from day one.— beegal99
- If Stacy Andrews plays like the Eagles thought he would, the O-Line will be OK. If not they better draft Pouncey. Herreman's can slide out to right tackle if Justice gets hurt, but we saw he cannot play Left Tackle very well. Justice might able to move over to LT if Peters goes down. What about all these developmental guys? Juan Castillo better make a contributor out of one of them.
- They should of never traded Sheldon Brown...why create a draft need when you didn't have to? It makes no good sense....— ajcash
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