Philadelphia's Offensive Line Continues to Struggle

After former Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson was put on Injured Reserve, it was assumed the Philadelphia Eagles would insert second-year man Drew Kendall in his place against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. It didn’t exactly turn out that way.

Philadelphia elected to kick center Cam Jurgens over to left guard and placed Kendall at center. This was especially baffling considering quarterback Jalen Hurts has publicly stated he feels comfortable with Jurgens at center.

Jurgens allowed one sack and three pressures in his new position. In total, Hurts was sacked three times against the Titan defense. Jurgens was a Pro Bowl performer for the Eagles for the past two years at center. Perhaps it was a massive miscalculation by the Eagles to think Jurgens can maintain that level of play at a new position along the offensive line.

After Sunday’s lackluster showing, it would probably be a good idea to move Jurgens back to his more natural position. As for Kendall, Pro Football Focus ranked him 21st among 33 qualified centers with a 56.8 overall grade after Sunday’s start. Being near the bottom third in the league does not exactly inspire much confidence moving forward to say the least.

Since Kendall’s debut as a starting center was a flop, and the Eagles did not feel confident putting him in as the starting left guard, Philadelphia is essentially back to square one. The search for someone who can fill the void left by Dickerson remains ongoing.

The next man up could possibly be former North Carolina Tar Heel and 2025 undrafted free agent Willie Lampkin. At about 5-foot-11 and 280 pounds, Lampkin is far smaller than the prototype NFL offensive lineman. However, perhaps that could be viewed as a good thing in offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s zone-blocking scheme that emphasizes great footwork and agility over size and brute strength.

Former Eagles Pro Bowl linebacker Seth Joyner praised the work ethic and tenacity of Lampkin.

“He’ll fight you and once he gets in front of somebody, he stays in front of him,” Joyner said.

Philadelphia also has rookie third-round draft choice Markel Bell on the roster. The enormous 6-foot-9, 345-pounder from Miami was primarily a tackle in college. It remains to be seen if Bell can kick inside to guard at the NFL level. However, with Hurts under constant pressure and the Eagles run game producing a measly 89 yards on 32 carries against Tennessee, all options must be considered heading into Monday night.