Philadelphia Eagles: Best Options to Replace Todd Herremans

Another one bites the dust. The Philadelphia Eagles once again made an inevitable move when they officially announced the release of long-time Eagle, offensive lineman Todd Herremans yesterday.

A fan favorite ever since he was drafted by Philadelphia in 2005, Herremans was an absolute warrior. No matter where he had to play or what injury he had to play with, it was never a problem. But it wasn’t just what he did on the field, Herremans was a professional off the field and someone his teammates enjoyed being around.

It’ll be tough for fans to see “The Toddfather” no longer on the roster but it was a necessary move. The Eagles offensive line may be one of the best units in the league but Herremans struggled in 2014 before suffering a season ending bicep injury. Left tackle Jason Peters and left guard Evan Mathis are fantastic, pro bowl players but they’re both 33 years old and aren’t getting any younger.

Eagles

The time is now for the Eagles to prepare for the future on the offensive line. Luckily they do have center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson as building blocks for years to come, but not much else in terms of the future up front.

This year’s free agent pool has quite a bit of high caliber offensive linemen, especially at guard, which is exactly what Philadelphia needs. Players such as Mike Iupati, Clint Boling and Orlando Franklin are all set to hit the open market. That’s good news for the Eagles but each of these players bring something different to the table.

Mike Iupati will likely be the most sought after guard in free agency. He’ll be 28 years old by the time the 2015 season begins and has proven to be one of the best guards in the entire league. Although he put up solid numbers at the combine in 2010, Iupati played in primarily a power running scheme in San Francisco with the 49ers. The Eagles use a zone blocking scheme so they may not necessarily go after Iupati, especially if the price gets too high.

Clint Boling is the youngest of the three players mentioned above at just 26 years old, but he’s had more than enough starting experience. He’s been a mainstay on the Bengals offensive line ever since he was drafted in 2011. Boling has proven he can play at a high level in a zone blocking scheme and also brings some versatility to the table as well since he has starting experience at left guard, right guard and right tackle. The Bengals will likely want to keep Boling in Cincinnati and that may drive his price out of the Eagles range.

Orlando Franklin may not win any beauty pageants, but he fits exactly what the Eagles look for on the offensive line. He posted impressive numbers at the combine in 2011 and is the type of athlete head coach Chip Kelly loves up front. Franklin played guard for the first time in his NFL career in 2014 and excelled at it. He was rated as the 13th best overall guard and 5th best left guard, according to Pro Football Focus. Franklin also has experience working with current Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. While Franklin was at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010, Stoutland was the offensive line coach and interim head coach there as well. Add that to his versatility to play both guard or tackle and Franklin may be the best option on the open market for Philadelphia.

Live Feed

Arrowhead Addict

Although the free agent pool has a ton of talent at guard, the Eagles could always look to fill the void left by Herremans’ departure through the 2015 NFL Draft. This draft class is considered to be deep along the offensive line and that’s something Philadelphia will likely take advantage of. Iowa’s Brandon Scherff and LSU’s La’el Collins both project to be great offensive linemen at the next level, especially at guard. But both will likely be off the board by the time the Eagles are on the clock.

That leaves them with various other options but there are two prospects in particular that would fit the Eagles very well. Oregon’s Jake Fisher obviously has experience in Chip Kelly’s uptempo scheme and also brings the athleticism up front that the Eagles highly value. Fisher could step in immediately and start at right guard, then eventually slide out to right tackle once Jason Peters retires and Lane Johnson shifts over to the left tackle spot.

Another draft prospect that many are familiar with now is Hobart’s Ali Marpet. A small school prospect that possesses big time talent. Marpet was invited the the Senior Bowl and put together an impressive performance that put his name on the map. He was then invited the combine where he solidified his status as an NFL caliber offensive linemen.

Marpet put up some incredible numbers including the fastest 40-yard dash of any offensive linemen, with a 4.98. He also posted a 7.33 second time in the three cone drill and 4.47 second time in the 20-yard shuttle. With those times and his versatility to play center or guard, it’s easy to see Marpet as a potential day two draft pick for the Eagles. Other prospects in the draft such as South Carolina’s A.J. Cann, Duke’s Laken Tomlinson could fit as well but they aren’t the athletes that Fisher and Marpet are.

For comparison’s sake, here is a chart I created that compares the combine numbers of the four projected Eagles starters on the offensive line to the players that I have specifically mentioned throughout this article. Thanks to Mockdraftable for providing the data necessary to create this chart, certainly a site that anyone interested in football should take advantage of.

Right away, Mike Iupati stands out as being behind the rest of the pack, as they say. He’s got the second slowest 40-yard dash and the slowest 20-yard shuttle. On the other hand, Orlando Franklin certainly stands out with his freakishly large measurements. But the “young guns” Jake Fisher and Ali Marpet bring the speed to the table that the veterans may not.

It’s clear Chip Kelly wants agile players on his offensive line, Herremans was the only starter on last year’s unit that didn’t run a sub-5.0 second 40-yard dash at the combine. There is always the chance that a player already on the Eagles roster, such as Allen Barbre, Andrew Gardner or Matt Tobin takes the starting job at right guard, but none of them really stood out when given playing time in 2014.

Replacing Todd Herremans isn’t the only thing Philadelphia has to address on the offensive line this off-season. They also have to add some depth as well. There will be an abundance of offensive line talent available in both free agency and the draft, it’s just up to the Eagles to go out and take advantage of it.

Next: Eagles: Potential Replacements for Jeremy Maclin

More from Inside the Iggles

• How former Eagles star Cre’Von LeBlanc helped Renegades upstage Cowboys
• Eagles 2023 schedule: Every WR duo Darius Slay, James Bradberry will battle
• Imagining better names for Jason Kelce’s Good Guy Award
• Bold predictions for the Philadelphia Eagles offense in 2023
• Reactions as ESPN suggests NFL roster moves involving Eagles, Carson Wentz