Eagles’ “O” line seen as being in NFL’s top ten by a very reliable source
What if we told you the Eagles had an offensive line that ranks in the top ten?
The Philadelphia Eagles received some high praise for their offensive line on Thursday. Pro Football Focus released their rankings for every NFL team, and the Eagles found their way into the top ten, earning an overall ranking of eighth. Think about that for a second. That means their offensive line is in the top 25 percent of all NFL teams. That’s pretty encouraging. They have a ways to go to be considered as elite, but they’re in a pretty good spot considering all that they had to overcome.
Tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson both finished in the top ten in pass and run blocking. The suspension of Johnson for ten games made many feel like the 2016 season would be a rough one. They were right. Rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai had some big shoes to fill in his first start, and it didn’t go well to say the least. He’d take some criticism but bounced back nicely. Center Jason Kelce took a few shots of his own as the veteran took a lot of criticism as he was seen as being one of the line’s weak links. Fans saw Kelce as being someone who was pushed around far more often than he should have been. Honestly, he wasn’t really pushed around as often as some made it seem.
Inside the Numbers:
As a unit, this team battled the aforementioned suspension of Johnson and injuries all season. With Johnson absent, the hope was Peters would be able to stay relatively healthy. He delivered, and in the process earned an overall grade from PFF of 88.3. That slotted him as the number seven lineman overall. Guard Brandon Brooks also played well in his first season with “The Birds”, so as it tuns out, Philadelphia has some building blocks in place.
Next: Rival Watch: Examining the NFC East (Divisional Round Edition)
They’ll need Kelce to improve in 2017, find the right mix and lock down what the interior of this line looks like. Still, they made quite an investment in their quarterback position (in case you haven’t hard), so they’ll want to keep him upright. It appears the reconstruction of the Eagles line appears to be off to a good start.