Explaining Early Eagles' Draft Hype at OT: 'Best Bet' at Pick No. 22?

There's a whole host of offensive tackles that should be available from 10 to 30 on the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. Could the Philadelphia Eagles pick one?

PHILADELPHIA - When it comes to the NFL Draft, everything is about time, place, and prospect for Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman.

The goal is to match valuation with evaluation to get the best potential fit for the Eagles.

By now, everyone who follows the organization understands the positions the Eagles value in the modern game vs. the ones that have been devalued but there are always outliers. 

For instance, back in 2017, the Eagles would have selected running back Christian McCaffrey with the No. 14 overall pick (he went No. 8 to Carolina) despite the narrative that Roseman will not take RBs in the first round.

At the time the Eagles felt McCaffrey was more than just a RB, a sentiment that has certainly been validated over the years, and were willing to buck the trend for the player.

In theory, the same could hold at off-ball linebacker, a position the Eagles haven’t dipped into at the top of the draft since Jerry Robinson in 1979, a span that has included many different managerial regimes.

What Roseman does admit is that when things are equal in his mind, Philadelphia will default to the offensive and defensive fronts, something he spoke about most recently when the Eagles selected Cam Jurgens at No. 51 in the 2022 draft over the far sexier Nakobe Dean (and Philadelphia ended up getting both players anyway).

A seamless transition from Lane Johnson to his heir apparent could be at the top of the Eagles' list in April / USA Today

“When we were on the clock in the second round, these guys will tell you, we had two players – it was Cam and it was [Eagles third-round draft pick] Nakobe Dean. And unfortunately for our fans at the time, you know, I'm always going to go [offensive line], [defensive line],” Roseman admitted at the time. “That's how we roll. That's how we build this thing.”

The 2024 NFL Draft where the Eagles start at No. 22 is still 11 weeks away and plenty of curve balls will come in the coming weeks as organizations around the league go through the pre-draft prospect.

If you want to play the odds, however, keep an eye on offensive tackle.

While it’s not an immediate need – the Eagles have two of the top-10 OTs in the NFL in Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata – Johnson will turn 34 in May and is far closer to the finish line than the starting gun in his career. More so, this year’s draft class is loaded at the position, meaning players will be pushed down the board a bit because many teams above Philadelphia will be focused on different positions.

NFL Media lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former Eagles scout, had eight offensive tackles among his first listing of the top 50 prospects. Seven of those – from Notre Dame prospect Joe Alt at No. 9 to Georgia’s Amarius Mims at 18 were clustered in the top 20.

The others are: Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga (No. 11), Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu (No. 12), Alabama’s JC Latham (No. 13), Washington’s Troy Fautanu (No. 16), and Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton (No. 17).

The point here is that it’s almost inconceivable that all seven will go off the board if the Eagles are forced to stay put and that’s the kind of valuation that Roseman loves.

Now it’s also unlikely that the Eagles will love all seven of those prospects but we’re playing the odds here.

Guyton, who projects as a right tackle, will get the most hype locally because he played at Oklahoma like Johnson and more so, the Eagles’ All-Pro has been mentoring Guyton.

While the Eagles aren’t selecting a player because one of their own happens to like him, again rewind to 2022 when Jurgens got the seal of approval from All-Pro center Jason Kelce.

Roseman told the story:

“When Kelce came back, as you know, this is a year-to-year thing with Jason and just very, very fortunate every year that we get Jason Kelce as a player, and whenever he decides to not play anymore, which hopefully is a long time down the line, he can help us in any way he wants,” Roseman said. “And he said, "Hey, I love the draft process." We gave him a few offensive linemen [to study]. And because Kelce is here working out all the time and they are here during Top-30 visits and we do performance stuff with them. Cam [Jurgens] comes in my office and he goes, "I just got to meet Jason Kelce. He's awesome!"

And I said, "Yeah, he's awesome."

Eagles Select Nebraska Center Cam Jurgens at No. 51 Overall

In other words, start players who happen to be respected carry weight.

“You know, Kelce saw all the same things that we saw,” Roseman said. “We think Cam has got a chance to be a very special player in this offense. And I said to Kelce, ‘You know, Jason, we have this unbelievable opportunity for a guy who is really talented to learn from the best who has ever done it here.’

“And I said, ‘You know, I don't know if it's the perfect analogy but it's almost like [Packers QB] Aaron Rodgers had the opportunity to learn behind [former Packers QB and Pro Football Hall of Famer] Brett Favre and then the Packers basically had 25 years of elite play at the quarterback position.’”

Whether it’s Guyton or one of the other top prospects, offensive tackle seems like the best early bet for the Eagles at the top of the 2023 draft.