Les Bowen: Rookie Kelly to get first start on Eagles' offensive line

Dennis Kelly didn't get invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in what experts called a bad year for offensive linemen, but he almost certainly will start at right guard for the Eagles against the Falcons Sunday.

Kelly, 6-8, 321, probably wasn't overlooked for being too small. He said Friday that at Purdue, scouts didn't see him in an NFL-style blocking scheme, weren't able to evaluate his one-on-one ability after watching him zone block as the Boilermakers' left tackle in a rudimentary system.

"A lot of teams were interested to see how I would fire out on a run block. We didn't do a lot of that," Kelly said after starter Danny Watkins missed the Friday practice and was listed as doubtful with what Eagles coach Andy Reid called a "chronic" (?!?) ankle problem Reid said Watkins aggravated in the Oct. 14 loss to the Lions. (Reid also said he thought Watkins would be fine, ultimately.) Kelly, a fifth-round draftee last April, has been active for two games this season, playing only on special teams.

Kelly is aware that in predraft scouting reports, phrases such as "stiff and upright" and "needs to add strength" abounded. He added 15 pounds this past offseason.

"Some things, scouts and coaches weren't too excited about," Kelly said.

But after drafting Kelly, the Eagles seemed excited, from his minicamp work through the preseason. Reid credited former scouting director Ryan Grigson, now the Colts' general manager, with bringing Kelly to his attention; Grigson played at Purdue and retains contacts there. Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg have disputed scouting assessments of Kelly.

"We have trust in him," said Reid, who said he decided not to shuffle players around to start a veteran instead of the rookie. (The Eagles could have gone with Demetress Bell at left tackle and played left tackle King Dunlap at right guard, or moved Todd Herremans back to guard and played Dunlap in his spot.)

"Smart kid, tough kid," Reid said. Kelly was a tackle at Purdue, but played a lot at guard in preseason and has worked out regularly there since training camp. "Great size and strength. So, you give him an opportunity now."

Kelly is huge for a guard, but the Eagles have been down that path before. right tackle Herremans (6-6, 321) played his first five seasons at guard. Dunlap (6-9, 330) has filled in at guard.

"There are big guys who've done it. King is taller than that, and he did it, and did it well for us. I'm not worried about it," Reid said. "As long as they can bend. Sometimes some of the bigger guys can be stiff in [the hips]. That's not the case here. He's got good, loose hips. He's able to settle down and play low, as low as you can be when you're that tall."

Kelly said he wouldn't be surprised if the Falcons brought a little extra pressure his way, knowing it's his first start.

"It's exciting. It's very humbling that the coach trusts me like that," he said. He said offensive-line coach Howard Mudd likes his size and his long arms.

"He likes that I'm as big as I am, I can get into the guys very easily," Kelly said. "He likes to use the word 'smother.' In fact, as big as I am, I am athletic for my size, and I can still move my feet. He likes the fact that I'm kind of a mixture of both - a big guy, and also kind of the quick guy that he likes."

Kelly said his sister Katie had planned to drive to this game from her home in Chicago anyway - her first trip to see him play - so this certainly would be a good week for him to start. His brother Tim is a grad assistant at Penn State but won't be able to get to the Linc Sunday, he said, though his sister plans to take in the Nittany Lions and the Eagles this weekend.

Watkins, the Eagles' first-round pick in 2011, had a problem with the ankle years ago and tweaked it, Reid said. He practiced Monday and Wednesday coming out of the bye, but Reid said Watkins obviously was laboring Wednesday.

"I think he'll be all right," Reid said. "Just let it kind of calm down here and see what happens, but I think it'll be fine."

Herremans said he told Kelly to "use the strengths that he has inside, which right now would be his long arms and his aggression."

"Dennis is a smart football player, though. There's not too much I have to tell him," Herremans said. "He's been doing a lot of work with Howard on inside stuff. I think he's ready to go."

Herremans said that under Mudd's scheme, playing guard isn't all that different from playing tackle.

But continuity is a big part of building an offensive line. The Eagles have lost Jason Peters and Jason Kelce to long-term injury. They've pinballed back and forth between Dunlap and Bell in Peters' left tackle spot. Now, with Kelly, they introduce another new cog.

"True, but that's the situation we're in," Herremans said. "You can't always have the optimal situation on the field."

Herremans said Kelly "works hard and doesn't say much."

"He's athletic. He's a big body to have in there," Herremans said. "He can reach out to the tight end from the guard. He's had a good week of practice."

Birdseed

Andy Reid said new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will work from the sideline Sunday, not upstairs. Bowles had been noncommittal on that issue. "His presence on the field I think is important," Reid said . . . Don't be surprised if the Eagles run more than usual, against the NFL's 28th-ranked run defense, on a day when the first effects of the ballyhooed big storm might start to be felt . . . The Eagles listed defensive end Phillip Hunt as questionable with a calf injury, though he practiced fully all week. Hunt's defensive snaps have decreased steadily, though he has been playing a lot on special teams. Could this be a prelude to activating Vinny Curry for the first time? . . . Eagles director of player development Harold Carmichael is being inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. Carmichael, an All-Pro wide receiver, already is part of the Eagles Hall of Fame. He played at Southern University.

Contact Les Bowen at bowenl@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @LesBowen.