There isn't a single Philadelphia Eagles fan who could have thought a month ago that Drew Kendall would be in the conversation for the team's future center, but here we are.
The Eagles stunned fans by trading center/guard Cam Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens. In exchange, the Eagles received a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.
Everyone believes this is a massive steal, given Jurgens' struggles over the last month. The reality is that this trade happened not only because it was a great deal for general manager Howie Roseman to agree to, but also because Kendall made it easier for the franchise to give him a shot.
Drew Kendall more than earned the Eagles center position
Kendall was a bit spotty in his first career start back in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans. He clearly still has a learning curve, but he finished with just two pressures allowed in the win. It was far from perfect, but he showed everyone he could handle his own against the likes of Jeffery Simmons.
Through three games this season at center, Kendall has allowed five pressures and one quarterback hit in 111 pass-blocking snaps. He has only been called on one penalty so far.
Pro Football Focus graded him a 54.7 overall, ranking 25th out of 33 eligible centers. They also gave him a pass-blocking grade of 56.9 (ranked 20th) and a run-blocking grade of 52.9 (ranked 27th).
Kendall has improved in pass protection over the three games he has started. Granted, he is at center, so there isn't as much pressure on him to be great at it, but he's made progress.
While the Eagles would like to see more from him on run-blocking, they've struggled to run the football, which isn't something fans are used to seeing. Philly is currently ranked 15th in rushing with 109 yards per game. While that may be good for some teams, it is a drastic drop from the team's 179.3 rushing yards per game in 2024.
The surprising part is now that Kendall is three games into his tenure as the starting center, he is actually one of the more experienced guys now. Jordan Mailata and Tyler Steen are the veterans now, but Kendall will have more experience than first-time starting left guard Willie Lampkin and rookie right tackle Markel Bell.
More responsibility is going to be put on Kendall to handle things at the center position that Jurgens was doing. The Eagles could test him with make calls at the line, but they may leave that to quarterback Jalen Hurts to handle for the time being. That's a tough task to ask anyone, but Kendall is slowly earning the trust of the coaching staff.
Roseman talked about it in his conversation with reporters after the Jurgens trade, saying they like what they have seen in Kendall so far. Kendall showed them enough that they could trade Jurgens and still be fine with the offensive line.
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The Eagles don't have a final product with Kendall, as he has more development that is needed. With that being said, he has showed enough that he can hold the job down for now and see what happens during the offseason.
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