Adrian Fedkiw
Just a few years ago the Philadelphia Eagles had the best offensive line in football.
Times have quickly changed.
The once-illustrious offensive line was ravaged by injuries in 2014. After starting all 17 games as a unit — including playoffs — in 2013, Lane Johnson missed the first four games of 2014 due to suspension, Jason Kelce was out for four weeks due to a sports hernia, Todd Herremans missed the last eight games after tearing his right biceps and a knee injury kept Evan Mathis out for seven games. Philadelphia used seven different starting combinations and featured 10 different players along the offensive line that year.
When Chip Kelly decided to cut Mathis and Herremans and replace them with marginal players like Allen Barbre and Andrew Gardner, that left a huge void at guard for 2015. Couple that with Jason Peters, who seemingly left every game with some nagging injury, the offensive line was once again a mess.
The Eagles went out and spent big bucks on guard Brandon Brooks and made minor splashes by signing guard/center Stefen Wisniewski and drafting guard/center Isaac Seumalo in the third round to help out the offensive line.
Now Philly needs to see the improvements on the field as opposed to on paper.
The starting left guard spot is up for grabs and will see a huge Training Camp battle between Barbre, Gardner, Barrett Jones, Malcolm Bunche, Wisniewski and Seumalo. At least they’re fighting for one spot compared to both guard slots a year ago.
Kelce has the most to prove heading into 2016, not only bouncing back from a disastrous year but transitioning from playing finesse football to a power game. Kelce was a fantastic pulling center on Kelly’s patented sweep play using his athleticism to get along the boundary and block defenders. He’s great at getting to the second level and blocking in the screen game. But the power game and moving massive men backwards? It’s a question mark. Remember how Ndamukong Suh manhandled Kelce when the Eagles played the Miami Dolphins last year?
Kelce’s playing weight was approximately between 280-285 pounds last year. Kansas City’s starting center in 2015, Mitch Morse, is 305. Wisniewski is also 305.
Let’s remember, however, that Kelce will be getting more help this season. Again, Mathis and Herremans were not retained heading into 2015 and the lack of cohesion and talent between Kelce and his guards showed. Brooks should provide a huge boost for Kelce.
Just two years ago many considered Kelce a top 10 or even a fringe top five center. Now he’s at a crossroads in his career. He’ll be given the first month or two to quiet the critics and show he can get back to his old self. If that first month looks anything like 2015, however, head coach Doug Pederson might have a tough decision to make at center moving forward.
Another player with a lot to prove is Peters. I do believe, however, that the slower brand of football will help him out tremendously and keep him on the field. If he struggles with injuries again, will the Eagles have a tackle emerge in camp who they can feel confident and fill in for Peters while he misses time? The Eagles have solid depth at guard and center, but the tackle position remains a bit of an issue.
Matt Tobin was a turnstile last year and Dennis Kelly isn’t much of an improvement either. Maybe fifth-round draft choice Halapoulivaati Vaitai will turn some heads in camp.
Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks
Training Camp Preview: Running Backs