Eagles Draft: Offensive line becoming real possibility in round one
By Conor Myles
The 2019 NFL Draft is only two weeks away, and the Philadelphia Eagles are poised to find the heir apparent to future Hall of Fame left tackle, Jason Peters.
Building in the trenches has become a point of emphasis for the Philadelphia Eagles during Doug Pederson’s tenure as head coach of the organization. The team signed Pro Bowl right guard, Brandon Brooks, during Pederson’s first offseason as the coach, while drafting starting left guard Isaac Seumalo, swing-tackle and starting left tackle during the team’s Super Bowl run, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, in addition to — adding Matt Pryor and intriguing prospect, Jordan Mailata, also through the draft.
The point of dissecting the team’s offensive line moves — Philadelphia has proven to be a team that invests heavily into their offensive line. Seumalo just re-signed on a three-year extension that will keep him slated as the team’s starting left guard moving forward. Eagles center, Jason Kelce, also got a well-deserved pay raise. Jason Peters restructured his contract to remain at left tackle for one more season. Right tackle, Lane Johnson, is signed through 2021, Brooks signed through 2020.
Currently, the Eagles have their starting offensive line in place for the 2019 season depending on Brooks’ return to the lineup after recovering from his Achilles injury suffered during the divisional round matchup versus the New Orleans Saints. The state of the team’s offensive line can still impact Philadelphia’s draft plans entering the first round on April 25th.
Rumors have begun reaching the surface about the Eagles’ intentions to look to the first round and target an offensive lineman. ESPN’s NFL Insider, Dan Graziano, reported the team’s interest in moving up the draft order to land an offensive tackle.