To me, this may be the most important but below the radar change we'll see in 2024.  Becton is just a monster and you can't let him ride the bench for an extended period unless he's a bust.  If anybody can bring out the dawg it him and turn him into a beast at RG, it would be Stout.  One of the battles I'll be watching this off season.

I think it’ll be Steen. It would be awesome if Becton could turn his career around here and win that job but I’m not convinced. I think he’ll end up being a swing tackle.

Just because we want Steen to play guard doesn't mean he can.  He shows real promise at left tackle but he couldn't play OG last year. 

Let's see how he does there after an off season of work.  If he bombs Becton can step in and the rookie from Michigan may be able to contribute by the end of the year.

1 hour ago, weko said:

Just because we want Steen to play guard doesn't mean he can.  He shows real promise at left tackle but he couldn't play OG last year. 

Let's see how he does there after an off season of work.  If he bombs Becton can step in and the rookie from Michigan may be able to contribute by the end of the year.

I thought he had an issue last year with playing on the right side - so yes, that certainly is the biggest concern.  But we're not in training camp, so we're entitled to our "dare we dream" moment IMO.

I don't think people realize how critical those RG and RT positions are.  LJ will not be able to maintain the elite edge he's had and that we've taken for granted.  As the right side of the Eagles line goes, so go the Eagles.  If Stout can get Mecton turned around to reach his potential playing on the ride side, it could be a franchise defining move.

On 6/13/2024 at 1:15 PM, Procus said:

I thought he had an issue last year with playing on the right side - so yes, that certainly is the biggest concern.  But we're not in training camp, so we're entitled to our "dare we dream" moment IMO.

I don't think people realize how critical those RG and RT positions are.  LJ will not be able to maintain the elite edge he's had and that we've taken for granted.  As the right side of the Eagles line goes, so go the Eagles.  If Stout can get Mecton turned around to reach his potential playing on the ride side, it could be a franchise defining move.

I think Stouts will teach Becton to play RG and Becton has embraced the idea.  He sees how much we pay interior OL and may realize that's where he gets his next huge contract.

Steen is only an OT until he proves otherwise this training camp.  If he can't, he is a back up OT here.  Starting left tackles have value so Steen could be a nice trade chip if he flops at guard

If anything, Steen has the edge on Becton since Steen has had an additional year to learn to play inside. 

On 6/12/2024 at 8:51 PM, Procus said:

To me, this may be the most important but below the radar change we'll see in 2024.  Becton is just a monster and you can't let him ride the bench for an extended period unless he's a bust.  If anybody can bring out the dawg it him and turn him into a beast at RG, it would be Stout.  One of the battles I'll be watching this off season.

The most important change is 2 new coordinators.  But if you limit this to just players in starting roles, it is a toss up between RG, how well Jurgens plays at center, and the starting outside CB spot opposite Slay.

Steen

Hmmmmm good question. I just can't pick someone yet.

A very interesting Training Camp position battle. 

It's nice to have some depth there. I think the OL will be very good this season. 

Becton

Still early to predict, but my too early prediction is that Hennessey gets the first crack at it and hangs on to start the season until Becton or maybe even rookie Trevor Keegan takes it from him. Could be week 6 after the bye.

 

Edit: I think Steen is our swing tackle.

Steen gets the starting guard job.

Hennessey backs up Jurgens/Dickerson/Steen. 

Becton gets the Stoutland U treatment as the 3rd tackle.  Maybe if he shows enough at guard he can eventually challenge Hennessey as the main backup there. 

If it's not Steen, that will be disappointing given he was a 3rd round pick.  Some players seem to have no issue moving between left and right side of line while others just can't seem to do it.  For those who struggle with that, I always wonder if it's a coordination thing (doing things right handed vs left, etc) or it's a mental thing in that they are mentally resistant to the idea of moving and fail because of that.

Either way, if Steen can't play RG effectively, he will essentially be a bust.  He would then either become trade bait or live out his Eagles day like Andre Dillard and be a backup LT only until his contract expires.

37 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Some players seem to have no issue moving between left and right side of line while others just can't seem to do it.  For those who struggle with that, I always wonder if it's a coordination thing (doing things right handed vs left, etc) or it's a mental thing in that they are mentally resistant to the idea of moving and fail because of that.

Some people are ambidextrous, more are not.

12 minutes ago, eglz1 said:

Some people are ambidextrous, more are not.

I get that, but do you have to be true ambidextrous to play either side of the line?  It's not quite the same as, say, throwing a ball with your non-dominant hand.  I'm not saying it's not an adjustment, but it would seem (to me) that it is just that, an adjustment.

6 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

I get that, but do you have to be true ambidextrous to play either side of the line?  It's not quite the same as, say, throwing a ball with your non-dominant hand.  I'm not saying it's not an adjustment, but it would seem (to me) that it is just that, an adjustment.

It is an adjustment but perhaps not a trivial adjustment. Maybe some can do it, others cannot.

4 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

If it's not Steen, that will be disappointing given he was a 3rd round pick.  Some players seem to have no issue moving between left and right side of line while others just can't seem to do it.  For those who struggle with that, I always wonder if it's a coordination thing (doing things right handed vs left, etc) or it's a mental thing in that they are mentally resistant to the idea of moving and fail because of that.

Either way, if Steen can't play RG effectively, he will essentially be a bust.  He would then either become trade bait or live out his Eagles day like Andre Dillard and be a backup LT only until his contract expires.

It's a lot more than right vs left.  OG is a different skill set.  He failed last year.  Maybe he'll do better this year.

We will know by the end of the pre season if he can play OG well

On 6/18/2024 at 10:26 AM, EaglesAddict said:

I get that, but do you have to be true ambidextrous to play either side of the line?  It's not quite the same as, say, throwing a ball with your non-dominant hand.  I'm not saying it's not an adjustment, but it would seem (to me) that it is just that, an adjustment.

And I would expect to be less of an adjustment at the guard position than the tackle position

On 6/18/2024 at 6:49 PM, weko said:

It's a lot more than right vs left.  OG is a different skill set.  He failed last year.  Maybe he'll do better this year.

We will know by the end of the pre season if he can play OG well

I think failing last year is a bit strong, he got one start when Jurgens and Opeta both went down the same week and was up against The Cowboys pass rush and Parsons at a position he didn't play in college, Dallas was trying to isolate him against Parsons most of the game and while he wasn't great, he wasn't a disaster for the line, PFF were ridiculously harsh on him and that got headlines but he did OK, it was pretty much standard for a project pick thrown in before he's ready.

On 6/17/2024 at 11:22 AM, MidMoFo said:

Still early to predict, but my too early prediction is that Hennessey gets the first crack at it and hangs on to start the season until Becton or maybe even rookie Trevor Keegan takes it from him. Could be week 6 after the bye.

Edit: I think Steen is our swing tackle.

I see Hennessey as a depth player - which is not a bad thing.  As for Keegan, he does have an injury he's dealing with.   I would think Steen's shorter arm length would work against him at tackle unless there is an emergency - it's why he was moved inside to begin with.  But Stout did throw out the comparison to Brandon Brooks which is a big compliment.

On 6/20/2024 at 5:32 AM, Cochis_Calhoun said:

I think failing last year is a bit strong, he got one start when Jurgens and Opeta both went down the same week and was up against The Cowboys pass rush and Parsons at a position he didn't play in college, Dallas was trying to isolate him against Parsons most of the game and while he wasn't great, he wasn't a disaster for the line, PFF were ridiculously harsh on him and that got headlines but he did OK, it was pretty much standard for a project pick thrown in before he's ready.

Good point.  I'm not judging him on that game but because he couldn't crack the lineup even though the team gave him ever opportunity. 

Having a full year to learn the position, maybe he can be a starter there.  We'll see

26 minutes ago, weko said:

Good point.  I'm not judging him on that game but because he couldn't crack the lineup even though the team gave him ever opportunity. 

Having a full year to learn the position, maybe he can be a starter there.  We'll see

The plan last year was to get Cam Jurgens on the field. I'm not sure who Steen was expected to beat. There is always an opportunity, but was he really "given every opportunity" to win that job? It was pretty much Jurgens' to lose the entire time. 

21 hours ago, weko said:

Good point.  I'm not judging him on that game but because he couldn't crack the lineup even though the team gave him ever opportunity. 

Having a full year to learn the position, maybe he can be a starter there.  We'll see

Ultimately I don't think you play 4 years at Tackle in the SEC including one full year for Nick Saban unless you have considerable talent, but he always projected as a Guard in the Pro's so he's had a year under Stout to improve his technique on the inside and get used to the scheme. I think he'll be solid.

Steen is probably plan A, but is a complete mystery.  He’s undergoing a position change and has almost zero (or maybe it even is zero) live action real snaps at RG.  Bechton is a fun ultra talented flier.  Hennessey is the safety net and because of that there’s probably a pretty high chance it ends up being him.

16 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

Ultimately I don't think you play 4 years at Tackle in the SEC including one full year for Nick Saban unless you have considerable talent, but he always projected as a Guard in the Pro's so he's had a year under Stout to improve his technique on the inside and get used to the scheme. I think he'll be solid.

Stout brought him up with Brandon Brooks, so apparently Stout thinks pretty highly of him.