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The DiCecco Daily, Positional Preview Series: Eagles Diverse Backup OL Group Offer Mix Of Youth, Vets · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Hey, what's going on? Everybody?
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Welcome into this edition of De Checho Daily. I, of
• 0:14
  course I'm your host, Andrew di Checo. Hope everybody had
• 0:17
  a great week, and I also hope everybody's enjoying this
• 0:20
  position preview series on the Inside the Birds platform because
• 0:24
  I'm having a great time presenting this content and perspective
• 0:28
  to you all.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: And today we're.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Going to round out the offense before taking a look
• 0:32
  at the defense next week. We're going to look at
• 0:35
  the offensive line today, and it's a talented group obviously
• 0:40
  that fueled the high octane running game last season. And
• 0:45
  you look at the offensive line, obviously, Jordan Mylott is
• 0:47
  going to start at left tackle. Landon Dickerson is going
• 0:50
  to start at left guard. The center will be Cam Jurgens,
• 0:54
  right guard, probably Tyler Steen, right tackle Lane Johnson. There's
• 0:59
  not a lot of guesswork there, but I think to
• 1:03
  kind of look at Tyler Steen. Tyler Steen is a
• 1:06
  player that I thought, and he played three hundred and
• 1:09
  sixteen snaps last year. Thought he did a really nice
• 1:12
  job being plugged in mid game oftentimes. I thought it
• 1:16
  highlighted his attention to detail, his engagement during the game,
• 1:20
  and also his ability to translate what he's learning on
• 1:24
  the practice field and in the film room and apply
• 1:27
  it on the field.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I think he's going to be just fine.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: I think if there's a player to sort of push him, well,
• 1:34
  I'll get to that as we sort of break down
• 1:36
  the depth pieces. But I think Tyler Steen's going to
• 1:39
  be the starter here and this is really a make
• 1:41
  or break year for him because he's entering his third season.
• 1:44
  If it's not now, then when will we have an
• 1:47
  opportunity as advantageous.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: As this one.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: But he doesn't tend to get a lot of I
• 1:54
  guess a lot of spotlight. But this is a player
• 1:57
  that I thought quietly had a really good season and
• 2:00
  when he was called upon, and I'm curious to see
• 2:03
  how that all manifests this summer because he is going
• 2:07
  to be the favorite in the front runner. He just
• 2:09
  has to stay healthy, because let's not forget last summer
• 2:13
  he was in the driver's seat to take over at
• 2:15
  right guard. He injured his ankle in training camp. Makai
• 2:18
  Becton took over and never relinquished that spot. I think
• 2:22
  that's a testament to Beckton and his athleticism and development.
• 2:27
  But It just goes to show you that you can
• 2:29
  be WILLI pipped in anytime if you are if you
• 2:32
  have a tentative foothold on a starting spot. But we're
• 2:37
  not going to spend a lot of time talking about
• 2:38
  the starters. We all know who they are. I just
• 2:40
  wanted to highlight very quickly Tyler Steen because he's one
• 2:44
  that is fluid. I mean, he's projected to be the
• 2:47
  right guard and the starter there and everything's setting up
• 2:49
  that way, but he has to go out there and
• 2:51
  earn it every single day in training camp.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Nothing will be handed to him.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: But I want to spend more time because there's so
• 2:57
  many different players and different roles to had. I wanted
• 3:01
  to take a closer look at some of the depth
• 3:03
  pieces there. And we're gonna start with Kendall Lamb, who
• 3:06
  signed a one year deal with the Eagles back in March,
• 3:09
  and he's the favorite to become such that that valuable
• 3:14
  swing tackle role on game day, and it shouldn't be
• 3:18
  overlooked because Fred Johnson left in free agency and not
• 3:22
  much was made about that, but in reality, Fred Johnson
• 3:24
  played a very pivotal role on game day, being that
• 3:28
  valuable swing tackled being somebody who the Eagles could plug
• 3:31
  in if Lane Johnson was unavailable, if Jordan Mylta was unavailable,
• 3:37
  and so Kendall Lamb, who is thirty three years old.
• 3:39
  He played in one hundred and nineteen games, starting forty
• 3:42
  four of those, and he had stints with the Texans, Browns, Titans,
• 3:46
  and Dolphins. The Eagles are his fifth team. He was
• 3:49
  with the Lions, but he didn't make the roster. It
• 3:52
  was an offseason addition, so that doesn't necessarily count. But
• 3:57
  last season he played in fifteen games with the Dolphins,
• 3:59
  start seven, And you know, a lot of this has
• 4:03
  to do with how he's going to perform in camp.
• 4:04
  But if he does, he's going to be that swing.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: Tackle in all likelihood the next player.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: And I sort of teas this early on as someone
• 4:13
  who can challenge Tyler Stein. I think that candidate is
• 4:16
  Matt Pryor. Now Matt Pryor returns to the team that
• 4:21
  originally drafted him back in twenty eighteen. He spent four
• 4:24
  seasons away and spent time with the Colts forty nine
• 4:27
  ers Bears. He played fifteen of seventeen games, started fifteen
• 4:31
  to seventeen games at right guard, for Chicago, played a
• 4:35
  career high in snaps in one thousand and six. He's
• 4:39
  thirty years old, if you can believe that time flies.
• 4:42
  But he can play any position along the line with
• 4:44
  the exception of center, and it would appear that he
• 4:49
  was going to be Tyler's teen's primary challenger. You like
• 4:53
  his experience playing in ninety two games, thirty nine starts,
• 4:56
  and his versatility, as I just outlined, is something that
• 4:59
  is going to prove to be invaluable, and I think
• 5:02
  he's going to have the inside track if not, if
• 5:05
  nothing else, then it'll be an inside track for a
• 5:08
  depth role. Kenyon Green is the next player on this list,
• 5:12
  and he's an interesting one because he was acquired in
• 5:15
  the trade that sent CJ.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Gardner Johnson to Houston. He's just twenty four years old.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: He was the fifteenth overall pick in the twenty twenty
• 5:22
  two draft. Now he has not lived up to expectations.
• 5:25
  In fact, he was rated among the poorest graded guards.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: In the sport.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: So I mean he appeared in twenty seven games, twenty
• 5:35
  three starts. He missed the entire twenty twenty three season
• 5:38
  with the shoulder injury. But the fact remains that he
• 5:41
  has not lived up to his billing. Now, if he's
• 5:43
  not able to redefine his career under Jeff Stotland, the
• 5:47
  renowned offensive line guru, well then it's kind of hard
• 5:51
  to imagine him being able to bounce back elsewhere in
• 5:54
  OTAs he was repping at left and right guard, which
• 5:57
  is important, and he also it's also important to mention
• 6:02
  that he was repping with the third team on the
• 6:06
  loan day of mandatory mini camp. You never want to
• 6:08
  make too much of it in the spring. What's going
• 6:11
  to really matter is what happens and the have different
• 6:14
  alignments in the summer when training camp rolls around. But
• 6:18
  he's somebody that I could easily picture fulfilling that role
• 6:22
  that Tyler Stein had as the primary reserve guard on
• 6:26
  game day.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Who can play left or right.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Gives you that versatility, but he's going to go have
• 6:31
  to go out there and prove it as well. I
• 6:33
  think you like the upside, and I think if Jeff
• 6:36
  Statlin's able to refine some areas or maybe implement a
• 6:39
  different type of technique, who knows, they may have found
• 6:43
  something there and they might have somebody who can step
• 6:46
  in and be that reserve. I don't think that he's
• 6:49
  a realistic challenger at Tyler Stein.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: I'm not there yet.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: I'm not saying he won't, but right now I think
• 6:55
  that player would be Matt Pryor. That brings us to
• 6:58
  Trevor Keegan, who's now entering his second season. The Eagles
• 7:01
  drafted him in the fifth round in twenty twenty four.
• 7:03
  He only played in one game as a rookie. He
• 7:05
  recorded thirty five snaps at guard. I also have to
• 7:09
  say that he does bring toughness in physicality, and he
• 7:12
  can play any or any interior position on the line.
• 7:16
  I think many sort of depict him solely as or
• 7:18
  left guard. He can play right guard, and he also
• 7:20
  repped at center during senior boat practices. So I think
• 7:26
  that that versatility, coupled with the fact that he's now
• 7:29
  entering his second season with Jeff Staltlin and those coaches,
• 7:33
  and he was a draft pick, I think that that
• 7:35
  may give him a little bit of a boost and
• 7:37
  allow him to emerge from a crowded pack of challengers here,
• 7:42
  and he's going to be sort of it's a murky
• 7:45
  situation because Prior and Keegan and some of the other players,
• 7:49
  we're gonna mention are also in the mix, but I
• 7:52
  think that Trevor Keagan deserves another season. The problem is
• 7:56
  is if you can only play guard, that kind of
• 8:00
  that kind of hinders you in terms of how the
• 8:03
  team may view the value. So I'm curious to see
• 8:08
  if he can If he showcases the ability to confidently
• 8:11
  play competently play left and right guard and maybe be
• 8:17
  that center in a pinch, but that should go a
• 8:21
  long way in determining his roster projection. Next on my list,
• 8:27
  I have Darian Kennard, who signed a reserve futures contract
• 8:32
  last offseason. He was a twenty twenty two fifth round
• 8:35
  pick of the Chiefs and he performed well enough last
• 8:38
  summer for the Eagles to get a spot on the
• 8:40
  fifty three.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Now, when he was stashed, I don't want to say stash.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: When he made the fifty three, knowing how far down
• 8:46
  he was in terms of depth in that pecking order,
• 8:49
  it always screamed to me that he was sort of
• 8:52
  kept around because they saw developmental qualities. He's really a
• 8:55
  right tackle, He's a backup right tackle. He also showcased
• 8:58
  the ability to play guard. He stepped in on the
• 9:01
  practice where Tyler Stein got hurt. I know he rerapped
• 9:03
  there a little bit at right guard, and he's a
• 9:07
  young player, strong and has proven durability and reliability. He
• 9:12
  played virtually He played every snap in one preseason game,
• 9:16
  I think it was upwards of seventy and he played
• 9:20
  in two games last season. He started one and I
• 9:23
  think he played in every snap that game. So he
• 9:25
  liked the ability to kind of work through it. He's powerful,
• 9:30
  he's athletic. It's also funny to mention that of the
• 9:35
  last he's won a Super Bowl ring in each of
• 9:38
  the last three seasons. Spent the first two with Kansas City.
• 9:41
  They drafted him in the fifth round, as I may
• 9:44
  have mentioned before, and I think that he has some
• 9:50
  ability and if you're looking at an offensive line dark horse,
• 9:53
  Darian Kenard should be it. The Eagles do like him,
• 9:56
  and how can I forget he's also the team's resident
• 10:00
  ping pong champion. He's always back there playing ping pong.
• 10:04
  But I'm curious to see if he's able to make
• 10:05
  this leap. That's what I'm most interested to see from Darien,
• 10:10
  because you saw the ability last summer.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Now I want to see.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Him put it together and really become more of a
• 10:17
  dominant force and showcase that versatility, because again, that's going
• 10:21
  to go a long way in your roster hopes. Then
• 10:29
  we have Brett Toath, who's a jack of all trades.
• 10:31
  He's back for his eighth season.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: In the NFL.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Six foot four, three hundred and four pounds, Brett Toath
• 10:39
  can play any position on the offensive line. He's technical,
• 10:42
  he's very smart. He's a favorite of Jeff Stotland. I
• 10:46
  have a hard time envisioning him making the roster. A
• 10:49
  lot would have to go right for that to happen,
• 10:51
  or possibly go wrong, depending on how you look at it.
• 10:54
  I think that he is a savvy player and the
• 10:57
  quintessential practice player because he pushes players.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: I mentioned that he's smart and mentioned that.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: He's savvy, and he strikes me as someone who will
• 11:06
  eventually be a coach because of his knowledge, and I
• 11:10
  think that he's worthy of having a round for that
• 11:13
  purpose if he doesn't make the fifty three. So that's
• 11:16
  Brett Toath. Now we're going to get into some rookies.
• 11:19
  Drew Kendall, the son of longtime NFL lineman Pete Kendall.
• 11:23
  Drew was drafted to the Eagles in the fifth round
• 11:25
  in April, started thirty seven games at Boston College. He
• 11:29
  can play center and guard, he's primarily a center. That's
• 11:32
  the role that I view him as at the pro level.
• 11:37
  He was working with the second team in OTAs while
• 11:40
  Brett Toth was working with the first team at center,
• 11:43
  because let's not forget Cam Jurgens is working his way
• 11:46
  back from back surgery, so he was withheld from team drill.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: So that's important to note.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: But I think eventually, because Tooth has been a little
• 11:54
  bit radic with his snaps in the past, he was
• 11:57
  this spring as well, and at least a couple That's
• 12:00
  where I can see someone like a Drew Kendall eventually,
• 12:04
  if not opening camp as the number two center, but
• 12:08
  I like that pick a lot in the third and
• 12:10
  on Day three, and I think he has a lot
• 12:12
  to offer. The Eagles never had a pure backup center
• 12:16
  last season. They tried that. They drafted Dylan McMahon, it
• 12:19
  didn't work out. Drew Kendall's a different story. I liked
• 12:22
  him a lot coming out of Boston College, and I
• 12:24
  think that he sticks as the primary backup to Jurgens.
• 12:30
  That now brings us to Miles Hinton. Who talked about
• 12:33
  NFL blood lines. The son of seven time Pro Bowl
• 12:36
  lineman Chris Hinton. He was drafted to the Eagles in
• 12:39
  the sixth round in April. He started his career at Stanford,
• 12:43
  transfer to Michigan. Started ten games last season for the
• 12:45
  Wolverines at left tackle.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: He liked his size at six foot six three d and.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Twenty three pounds, and I believe that he has the
• 12:54
  qualities and the skill set to become the team's future
• 12:58
  swing tackle. His game a lot, his tape was pretty
• 13:02
  impressive last season. But I'm also expecting Hinton to showcase
• 13:08
  to show well this summer, I should say, And as
• 13:12
  I mentioned, I think he sticks. I think he becomes
• 13:14
  a swing tackle in the future, but I think he
• 13:16
  makes the team out of camp as a reserve tackle
• 13:19
  that the Eagles will continue to develop. There's another rookie,
• 13:25
  Cameron Williams. He's a raw but he's very intriguing. But
• 13:30
  he's a very intriguing prospect. He was drafted to the
• 13:33
  Eagles in the sixth round.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: In twenty twenty five.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: He like his length and athleticism, and he did shine
• 13:40
  as a run blocker, particularly at Texas, but he doesn't
• 13:44
  have a ton of experience. You just see those developmental
• 13:48
  qualities and those tantalizing traits, and if you're Jeff Stoutlen,
• 13:52
  you just want to get your hands on him and
• 13:53
  continue to refine that and then possibly next season he's
• 13:57
  able to be counted on as reliable depth. That's at
• 14:00
  least how I'm viewing it right now. I could totally
• 14:02
  be misreading it. And he goes into training camp and
• 14:05
  he lights it up. We'll have to wait and see.
• 14:07
  That's what I most look forward to in training camp,
• 14:09
  seeing all of these different things. But Cameron Williams is
• 14:12
  a player that you should absolutely keep an eye on.
• 14:14
  I think he has a world of ability. Now it's
• 14:17
  just about honing that in and proving that you can
• 14:21
  be somewhat of a polished product by summer's end so
• 14:23
  that the team can count on you should they need
• 14:26
  you down the line. Another rookie, Holland Pierce. He was
• 14:29
  a rookie free agent signing out of Rutgers. Six foot eight,
• 14:32
  three hundred and forty one pounds, and you like the size,
• 14:37
  but he also had a very very decorated and experienced
• 14:41
  career at Rutgers.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: But he does join a crowded.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Position, and he may be a case of which he
• 14:49
  has to showcase versatility to really enter the roster conversation
• 14:54
  in any legitimate manner. But I did have a fifth
• 14:57
  round grade on Pierce, but he wasn't drafted to the Eagles.
• 15:02
  There's players above him who were drafted and veterans above him,
• 15:05
  so he's going to have to prove some sort of
• 15:08
  qualities that make it almost you know, I should say
• 15:13
  a little bit tricky to release him because you may
• 15:16
  not be able to get him.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: On the practice squad.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Rounding out our rookie list is Marcus Tate, who originally
• 15:23
  participated in the Eagles rookie mini camp on a tryout
• 15:25
  basis Listen, he played in thirty seven games, started forty
• 15:30
  He started.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: Thirty seven games.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: He played in forty two at Clemson over his four
• 15:35
  year career ten games last season. He's mostly a left guard,
• 15:39
  but he does have tackle versatility. Now, this is a
• 15:42
  player who was sidelined during spring practices because he last
• 15:47
  season underwent reconstructive surgery after the season to repair an
• 15:52
  MCL and MPFL, and as I mentioned, he was off
• 15:56
  to the side.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: So this will be something to watch.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: I want to see if he's able to be on
• 16:01
  the field and participating by training camp.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: Should be, but you never know.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: Rounding out the list of the remaining offensive linemen that
• 16:11
  aren't the starters is lake In Vaka Lahi. Great story.
• 16:15
  He spent the entire year with Eagles last year as
• 16:18
  an international exemption. He was on the practice squad. Really
• 16:23
  cool story because he played junior rugby. He played junior
• 16:26
  rugby league in Australia and he was discovered by Eagles
• 16:29
  international scout Chris Naoli, who worked with who worked out
• 16:33
  Vaca Lahi in New Zealand.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: That's where Vocala he was born.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: He's raw and he's athletic with prototypical size and he
• 16:43
  never played a down of football before joining the Eagles
• 16:46
  last year. There's a he had a connection before joining
• 16:49
  the Eagles with Jordan Malatta, and that's a player that
• 16:53
  because he's such a he's truly a green product. You'll
• 16:58
  be able to notice if he makes strides this year
• 17:01
  because last year he wasn't. He didn't get a lot
• 17:04
  of reps because he was working with the fourth team.
• 17:07
  But with a year end meetings and a year working
• 17:10
  with Jeff Staltland, let's see how he returns this year.
• 17:13
  He also has, as I mentioned, my Lota in his corner.
• 17:16
  So Vakalahi is an interesting player. We don't talk about
• 17:19
  him probably ever, but he is somebody that I will
• 17:22
  be watching this summer, if for no other reason than
• 17:25
  to see where he's at in terms of his development. Well,
• 17:30
  that's the group of offensive linemen, and that closes the
• 17:32
  book on our offensive position preview for the twenty twenty
• 17:37
  five Eagles, And next Monday or Monday, we will take
• 17:41
  a look at the defensive line and work our way
• 17:45
  through the Eagles defense. I'm having a lot of fun
• 17:48
  doing these I hope you're having a lot of fun
• 17:50
  listening to him and maybe learning about some of the
• 17:52
  players that you maybe aren't familiar with.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: And that will do it. Hope everybody has a great weekend.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: And I will talk to everybody on Monday Day and