NFL experts praise Philadelphia Eagles O-Line two times over

The Philadelphia Eagles offensive line got some love two times over from the NFL and stat experts over at Pro Football Focus.

Sometimes, you’re so good that someone’s giving you another award while you’re just being notified of the first. Philadelphia Eagles fans have been hearing the narrative about stellar line play for quite some time now. Entering the 2019 NFL regular season, one of the goals was to keep Carson Wentz upright, and more often than not, Philly’s offensive line has passed that test with flying colors.

It’s a fact that hasn’t been lost on the experts who analyze this great game daily, particularly the stat gurus over at Pro Football Focus.

Jason Kelce and Brandon Brooks were both named as members of the 2019 PFF NFL All-Pro Team. Philly’s offensive line as a whole was tops on PFF’s ranking of every offensive line for the 2019 season.

Here’s the skinny on what they said about the entire unit.

"When fully healthy, the Eagles’ offensive line didn’t have a single weak link, and that is invaluable in a league where weak links are quickly exposed. All five starters graded among the top-10 players at their respective positions. Seumalo was the only one who graded outside the top-two players at his position. The most impressive performance on the line belongs to Brooks, who had the highest overall grade of any guard in the NFL after tearing his Achilles last postseason. His season was cut short by injury again last week, but his performance as the top player on the league’s top offensive line has been one of the better stories this season."

Here’s Sam Monson’s opinion on both Kelce and Brooks individually. First, Kelce.

"In what may not have been the best year we have ever seen for centers, Philadelphia’s Jason Kelce was once again the best on display for most of the season. Kelce is one of the most athletic and mobile run-blocking centers in the NFL, and he comfortably owns the best PFF run-blocking grade at the position (82.4). He has allowed more pressure than is ideal this season (two sacks and 34 total pressures), but in a down season at the position, this is still enough to get the nod as our All-Pro."

Here’s what he said about Brooks.

"A perennial top-five player at the position, Brandon Brooks put together a career year in 2019 for the Eagles, posting the best grade we have seen from him and his first season grade above 90.0. Brooks allowed just one sack and 19 total pressures across more than a thousand snaps for the Eagles and was a dominant force as a run blocker. Brooks has always been an underrated player, but this year he earned his spot on PFF’s All-Pro team."

Kelce will anchor the league’s best O-line for a third-straight postseason, but they’ll be forced to head into battle without Brooks as he’s now on the IR. Hopefully, Lane Johnson is back on Sunday, but Matt Pryor and Halapoulivaati Vaitai wait in the wings and will take the necessary reps in practice should they need to fill in.

The most obvious idea is ‘Big V’ filling in at right tackle if Johnson can’t go on Sunday. That would mean that Pryor fills in at guard, but keep in mind the fact that Vaitai can play a little guard himself. There are a few options that will be tossed around, but Jeff Stoutland, the Eagles’ offensive line coach is one of the best in the biz.

With that being said, you can rest easy Eagles fans. The front five will be fine and ready to play come 4:40 PM EST on Sunday.