The Philadelphia Eagles are going through another lull on offense that marks a disturbing, persistent trend during the Nick Sirianni era, but the 2026 NFL Draft represents a beacon of hope.
It doesn't help Sirianni that he's dealt with a revolving door of offensive coordinators. That hurts offensive continuity. Nevertheless, current play-caller Kevin Patullo is capitalizing about as little as is fathomable on a loaded Eagles skill group assembled by elite GM Howie Roseman.
Some of Philly's struggles are due to an offensive line that's taken a step back, though. In a prominent draft analyst's first 2026 mock, Howie goes hard in the trenches.
Dane Brugler bolsters Eagles' troubled offensive line in 2026 NFL mock draft
If anyone's an NFL Draft junkie like me, Dane Brugler is a familiar name. He headlines draft coverage at The Athletic and drops a tome-sized annual draft guide called "The Beast." This is a draft expert of great renown!
So now that Brugler has released his maiden 2026 mock draft of the first round, let's see what he has to say about the Eagles. He has them taking Penn State guard Vega Ioane with the 22nd overall pick.
"One draft pick isn’t going to rectify the Eagles’ run-game woes, but adding an athletic mauler such as Ioane (pronounced “Yo-wahn-ay”) sure would help. Tyler Steen has been up and down in his first year as a starter, and the Eagles have to be concerned about Landon Dickerson’s long-term durability."
Although the Eagles won the Super Bowl last season in the first year after legendary center Jason Kelce's retirement, his replacement, Cam Jurgens, had back surgery following that magical playoff run. As you can see from Brugler's analysis, Jurgens isn't even the biggest concern up front on the Eagles' offense.
Landon Dickerson entered the NFL from Alabama off a torn ACL. This season alone, he's battled through a torn meniscus that required surgery, along with his own back problems and an ankle injury.
Any Eagles fan knows how important right tackle Lane Johnson is to the team's winning ways. His absence from the lineup of late hasn't helped, but Brugler didn't see a Johnson successor in Round 1 on his initial mock pass.
The prospective addition of Ioane would at least give Philly flexibility on how to shuffle up the interior o-line. Dickerson has played center in the past, but Ioane plays left guard. Ioane would represent a big-picture pick, as Dickerson will enter 2026 on the second season of a four-year, $84 million contract. Jurgens' own four-year extension kicks in next season, too.
Right guard Tyler Steen will play out his rookie deal unless Roseman re-ups him this offseason as well. Thus, Ioane could be Steen's eventual replacement on the interior, as he logged 284 snaps at right guard the previous two seasons for the Nittany Lions.
Eagles star Saquon Barkley has struggled to back up his 2,000-yard 2024 season with anything close to that this year. Much of his decline is rooted in scheme and less dominant play up front. In addition to being a sound run blocker, Ioane has allowed only two pressures this year at Penn State on 310 pass blocking snaps, per PFF.
You can never have enough talent or depth on the offensive line. Roseman knows this, and he found all three of his current interior o-line starters in successive drafts in Dickerson (2021, second round), Jurgens (2022, second round), and Steen (2023, third round).
Read more: These stats expose the harsh reality of Eagles' bland offensive scheme
Howie is due to prioritize building out the offensive trenches yet again early in the draft.