Eagles might regret not picking any offensive linemen

When Todd Herremans was released by the Eagles in February, he went on local radio and said that Chip Kelly valued the quarterback position and the line the most on offense.

"Other than that I think that he feels like . . . the system will take care of it," Herremans said.

But since that statement Kelly has done virtually nothing to address an offensive line that is aging and lacking in depth. Despite the obvious need, the Eagles didn't select a single lineman in the NFL draft for the second year in a row.

Two weeks ago, when he was asked to name the deepest positions in the draft, Eagles vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz said the offensive line first, followed by wide receiver and defensive back. But Kelly said the linemen the Eagles had targeted kept getting plucked before they were to pick in each round.

"In each round they were taken before we had an opportunity to pick," Kelly said Saturday. "We're going to stick to our board. . . . You look at our line in terms of going to play this season, and I think we're excited. We do have to address it as we move forward in the future."

Three of the Eagles' projected starters are over 30. Left tackle Jason Peters is 33. Left guard Evan Mathis, who probably won't be traded or released now, will be 34 in November. And Allen Barbre, who is slated to replace Herremans at right guard, will be 31 next month.

Peters earned his seventh Pro Bowl selection last season and was the only lineman to start all 16 games, but by the end of the year his play had slipped and he looked exhausted. Asked how many years Peters had left, Kelly wouldn't predict, but he voiced optimism.

"I know it's definitely one [more year] because the way he's working right now there's absolutely no question he'll be the top tackle in the game this year," Kelly said. "You just can't predict the future."

When Peters suffered an Achilles tendon rupture and was lost for the 2012 season, the Eagles never came close to replacing his production. Last season, four other starters missed a combined 22 games to injury, and somehow Kelly was able to muster a 9-3 record by Thanksgiving.

But there were games - vs. the 49ers and Seahawks most prominently - in which the patchwork offensive line was overmatched. Most teams couldn't win 10 games with as many injuries, and it's unlikely the Eagles suffer such a fate two years in a row, but there isn't much upside on the bench right now.

Andrew Gardner and Matt Tobin were the top tackle/guard reserves, but Tobin wasn't ready last season and was benched, and Gardner struggled in pass protection when called on.

David Molk got an 'A' for effort during his four-plus games filling in for Jason Kelce, but the undersize center could only do so much. Dennis Kelly somehow made the roster, but he's not a schematic fit. And Julian Vandervelde has played in only one game in his career.

Further complicating matters is a new quarterback who may need protecting more than most. Sam Bradford missed the last 25 games with two torn anterior cruciate ligaments and has had other injuries over the years. Of course, he may not even be healthy by the season.

Kelly said that he was open to trading for help or looking to other avenues. He is deep at inside linebacker and in the secondary after adding nine new players to those positions, and it's no secret that linebacker Mychal Kendricks and cornerback Brandon Boykin could be had for the right price.

Several undrafted rookie offensive lineman will be added, but there are only so many diamonds in that rough.

Post-draft prognosticating is a foolish game, so it's difficult to say whether Kelly's first draft in charge of personnel was a successful one. He seemed to get value at the top with wide receiver Nelson Agholor in the first round and defensive back Eric Rowe in the second.

But to go the entire three days without taking an offensive lineman - especially in light of Marynowitz's comments and others' - was a surprise.

"There was a run in the second round," Kelly said. "There were some guys we were really excited about, but they went before we picked also."

Four likely targets went in the late second and early third rounds - Oregon tackle Jake Fisher, Hobart guard Al Marpet, Utah guard Jeremiah Poutasi, and South Carolina guard A.J. Cann.

Three linemen - Pittsburgh's T.J. Clemmings, Florida State's Tre' Jackson, and Alabama's Aries Kouandjio - went right before the Eagles were to pick in the fourth round, and Kelly promptly sent that selection to the Lions for a third-rounder in 2016.

By the time the seventh round rolled around, Kelly was jokingly asked if he hated offensive linemen.

"No, I love offensive linemen," he said. "But again, you've got to take what's available. . . . The board was pretty depleted by the time we got back on the clock."

Depleted isn't the right word for the Eagles' O-line, but if the injury bug hits again next season it could be a word Kelly will be hearing again and again.