Philadelphia Eagles veteran Lane Johnson praises two teammates

Say what you want to say about the Philadelphia Eagles‘ new head coach Nick Sirianni. They say that teams often take on the personality of their leader, and that could be a pretty cool explanation for why this team seems to have a different approach this offseason.

Sure, we all love Doug Pederson, and he came across as a pretty positive and standup guy as well, but after three years of hearing about everything from anonymous sources to locker-room dysfunction to a lack of discipline when it came to getting to meetings on time, it’s been nice to hear guys compliment their quarterback for his work ethic and know that the wide receivers aren’t out to get their signal-caller.

Recently, the love fest continued as one of the long-time stars of this Philadelphia Eagles team hung out on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

Lane Johnson sings the praises of a certain Philadelphia Eagles rookie.

Say what you want about longtime Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson. If the guy puts one or two more decent seasons together, he literally has an argument for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some might even go as far as to say that he has that argument now.

Here’s what we all can agree on. Why he doesn’t get more interviews is beyond baffling. He’s always good for an entertaining one. While hanging with the GMFB crew, he had a chance to talk about a little Eagles football. When the topic turned to the subject of Philly’s talented rookie, DeVonta Smith, the big guy had this to say.

"We call him the Slim Reaper. I think that’s his nickname. He’s impressed early on in camp. His change of direction, his ball skills. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he does show a whole lot of what he’s capable of. I think when you have a guy that high caliber, I think he does nothing but bring everybody else along in the receiving corps. So, we’re excited about him. I think he’s going to do tremendous things this year. Yeah man, the Slim Reaper. Watch out for him."

Lane Johnson also made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show recently and complimented QB1, Jalen Hurts, there. Here’s the full interview from that one. Be advised. There’s some strong language here, but it’s Pat McAfee. Don’t you always run that risk?

Let’s talk a little more about Smith for a second. You’ve seen the numbers hundreds of times, but just for the sake of giving ourselves a reason to smile, here they are again. In 47 career games at the collegiate level, he hauled in 235 reception, including a stunning 117 snags in 2020. The results were pretty positive, as he racked up 3,965 receiving yards and 46 touchdowns.

Now, if those numbers translate to the NFL level, this young man has the chance of being pretty special (and fun to watch). By the looks of things and from everything we’re seeing and hearing from coaches, there’s no real reason to believe that they won’t. Now, that ought to put a huge smile on your face if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Somewhere, Lane Johnson has a big smile on his. He always does.