Hunting for a Tackle

Posted: March 19th, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

The Eagles have the best pair of offensive tackles in the league. Lane Johnson will be in Canton once he retires. Jordan Mailata isn’t on that level, but he’s an above average starter.

As good as Johnson and Mailata are, teams need depth. Halapoulivaati Vaitai was the starting LT in Super Bowl LII. Last year Fred Johnson started 6 games, playing both LT and RT.

I thought the Eagles might bring Johnson back. He wasn’t great last year, but was a serviceable option. I’m guessing the Eagles are looking for a cheaper, and hopefully better, option. That means the draft.

This is the time of year where we start to find out which prospects the Eagles are showing interest in. We only know of three players visiting Philly so far.

• OT Anthony Belton, NC State
• OT Josh Conerly, Oregon
• OT Marcus Mbow, Purdue

Let’s talk about the players.

Belton is big at 6-6, 336. He played LT for the Wolfpack, starting for three years. At his best, he looks like a good starting OT. Belton has pretty good feet. He is a physical blocker with a real nasty streak. When he gets a chance to hit DL, he pops them. Belton is an impressive run blocker. He’s powerful and can get movement in the run game. Belton isn’t a top athlete. That’s where you have some questions with him. Can he handle OT in the NFL? Would he be better suited to move inside to OG?

You can think of him as a more talented version of Vaitai. I think Belton will be a Day 2 pick. I can see Jeff Stoutland really liking his physicality and overall potential.

Conerly is 6-5, 311. He is a good athlete and terrific pass blocker. Conerly has quick feet and excellent balance. He started at LT for two years for the Ducks and did an outstanding job of protecting the QBs. Conerly has more of a lean build. He isn’t going to overwhelm defenders in the run game. Don’t panic and think of Andre Dillard. Oregon ran the ball a lot and Conerly is a solid run blocker. He just happens to be better at pass protection, where his feet and athleticism give him a big advantage.

Conerly did a solid job in his battle with Abdul Carter. Conerly could go anywhere in the 25 to 45 range, depending on what teams like in their OTs. Stoutland would be most interest in working with Conerly based on his footwork. That’s his best trait.

Mbow is probably the most interesting of the trio. He started for three years, playing both RG and RT. He doesn’t have ideal size at 6-4, 303. Mbow is a gifted athlete. He is very good in pass pro. He uses his hands really well and mixes in different techniques. This is a smart player. He moves really well and is outstanding in space.

The question with Mbow is strength. Can he anchor against NFL rushers? Can he get movement in the run game? The Eagles must think that he can be good enough in those areas. Stoutland has to love the idea of those movement skills. Mbow could possibly play G or even C in the NFL. The Eagles loved Jason Kelce and Cam Jurgens as inside players. Maybe they think Mbow would also be good inside. He’s worth trying at OT because of his footwork.

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The Eagles will look at a lot of OL prospects. They will probably take someone early. They might take a couple of OL and they will sign UDFAs. The Eagles believe in using a lot of resources on the line of scrimmage. They will look high and low to find guys.

There is also the possibility of them signing a free agent. Remember that Mekhi Becton was signed after the draft last year.

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Tony Pauline reported the Eagles will be meeting with South Carolina edge rusher Kyle Kennard. They tried to meet with him at his Pro Day so this wasn’t a Top 30 visit.

Kennard is 6-4, 254. He has long arms and good athletic ability.

Kennard would be a nice addition to the pass rush group. Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche are in Philly on one-year deals. Kennard would be more of a long term solution. He will likely be a mid-round pick.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/03/hunting-for-a-tackle/

Can add Jalen Travis to the list of OTs on top-30 visits.  Travis is probably an early day 3 guy, maybe late day 2.  

So far overall, Eagles are looking at OTs that could/should be drafted anywhere from Round 1 (Conerly), Round 2/3 (Mbow and Belton) and Round 4 (Travis).  Seems like they want to allocate a decent resource to this position.  Still early in the top 30 visits, but there's certainly a trend so far.  

There is a lot of player movement still to come.....the draft, the post draft releases, the post June 1 cuts and the preseason cuts always has Howie's attention.

They did sign Kendall Lamm yesterday but that shouldn't impact any draft plans.  

Jordan Mailata is an above average starter? Lawlor dude you lost me at that. Mailata was the highest rated player in the league last year. He’s an absolute stud and has locked down the LT position for probably the next 5 or more years. An above average starter?

10 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Jordan Mailata is an above average starter? Lawlor dude you lost me at that. Mailata was the highest rated player in the league last year. He’s an absolute stud and has locked down the LT position for probably the next 5 or more years. An above average starter?

That was a curious statement no doubt.  I know he likes to joke around quite a bit (exaggerate one way or the other) … was wondering if that was the case here but doesn’t really follow through on the comment so it’s just weird.  

3 hours ago, time2rock said:

That was a curious statement no doubt.  I know he likes to joke around quite a bit (exaggerate one way or the other) … was wondering if that was the case here but doesn’t really follow through on the comment so it’s just weird.  

Yeah seems odd… Maybe he’s still expecting Mailata to hit some kind of a bump? And maybe regress? I mean I don’t see it but maybe Tommy feels the fairytale story can’t continue?

On 3/27/2025 at 2:48 PM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Yeah seems odd… Maybe he’s still expecting Mailata to hit some kind of a bump? And maybe regress? I mean I don’t see it but maybe Tommy feels the fairytale story can’t continue?

I definitely think it was tongue in cheek humor.