Eagles' Cam Jurgens Transition to RG Has Plenty of Tutors
PHILADELPHIA – There are worse ways to learn how to play guard for the first time in your life than being wedged between center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson and having a teacher like Jeff Stoutland, the wizard behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ wonderous offensive line.
Those are the main mentors for Cam Jurgens as he continues to take first-team reps at right guard, a position left vacant when Isaac Seumalo took his cerebral game to the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.
“I’ve been learning every day, so I feel like I’ve been getting better,” Jurgens said following Tuesday’s fourth practice of training camp.
“It’s been a good transition, especially with communication in talking with Kelce and Lane and figuring out the best way to communicate when we’re on the field and the best way to work together, so it’s been a good transition so far.”
Kelce and Johnson, a pair of All-Pro players, and Stoutland, owner and operator of the Jordan Mailata-branded Stoutland University, aren’t the only ones coaching up Jurgens, a second-year player out of Nebraska.
Fletcher Cox is, too.
“He’ll tell me what he sees from my sets from the defensive lineman perspective and how he sees how I could do something a little bit better,” Jurgens said of Cox. “It’s cool hearing it from that side.
"He’s been in the league for so long, he knows exactly what the weakness is and what he’s looking for, so it’s nice to see what they’re looking for so I can learn from it and get better on the next rep.”
Jurgens said he never envisioned having to play guard in the NFL. He was drafted in the second round last year to be the replacement for Kelce. Problem is, Kelce isn’t retiring.
“I never thought I would play O-line going into college (after being recruited as a tight end), either, but at the end of the day, I’m not really a position player, I’m trying to be a football player, so it doesn’t really matter,” he said.
Jurgens said that, even though he is learning how to play guard, he is still keeping up with his studies on playing center.
“I’m paying attention with everything during the snap trying to see things from Kelce’s eyes and when we’re in the meetings, I’m thinking about guard and center as well, so I can always slide over to center,” he said. “I don’t want to be slacking off in that part of it, so trying to gain knowledge with both of them right now.”
Coach Nick Sirianni isn’t ready to commit to Jurgens being the starter, but it’s clear at this point, the Eagles want him to be.
“I think to say that he is there, and he is there exclusively would be unfair to the other guys that are competing with him,” Sirianni said. “… Nothing is in stone, and we'll just keep working to make sure that we put the right five guys out there when we go.”
Jurgens battled first-round pick Jalen Carter during one-on-one drills as the pads came on for the first time in camp, and drew a stalemate in two of the three reps. In the one that wasn't, he hauled Carter down on what was a clear holding penalty.
Rookie third-round pick Tyler Steen is getting second-team reps.
The knock on Jurgens is his weight, which is below the 315 pounds considered optimum for the position. Left guard Landon Dickerson by comparison weighs 332 pounds.
Jurgens said on Tuesday that he barely weighs over 300, but he likes to “eat what tastes good.”
“I had two ribeye steaks Monday night for dinner,” he said. “Charles in the cafeteria makes a mean ribeye.”
Another big adjustment for Jurgens is playing in space.
As a center, a position he started at for three years with the Cornhuskers, he was on the ball. Now, he has to concern himself with spacing when he lines up and when he moves to pull or trap.
“He's getting used to guard that he's never played before not even in college,” Kelce said. “There’s little differences there. You know, you're already off the ball, so you don't have to work to get depth kind of the same way you do at center.
“You're more setting the point, being the aggressor at guard as opposed to center, I guess, but he has a tremendous skill set.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.
Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here
