Imagine Cam Jurgens Between Jason Kelce And Lane Johnson

Will Cam Jurgens be ready to switch positions and step in for Isaac Seumalo as the starting right guard in 2023?

Nick Sirianni addressed the notion of the 2022 second-round pick as the favorite to land the job.

The leadership of Jason Kelce is invaluable to the Philadelphia Eagles, and Jurgens can benefit from the presence of Kelce as much any member of the defending NFC champions. 

It’s a luxury for any player to step in between legends like Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson every game. It unquestionably helped Seumalo on his path to signing a three-year, $24 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The favorable position at right guard should factor into the optimistic evaluation of a young, talented player like Jurgens moving to a less familiar position.

However, the dependability that Seumalo provided shouldn't just be throw out the window. He played over 90% of the offensive snaps in four consecutive seasons to end his tenure in Philadelphia.

While analysts have constantly lauded the Eagles for their dominance along the offensive line in recent seasons, that high level of play has only happened when the best linemen are on the field.

Injuries destroyed the line glaringly in 2020 in a 4-11-1 season. The continuity of a healthy offensive line has been the foundation of some of the best performances from the Eagles in the last two seasons, and the dependability of Seumalo was a big part of that.

What should be expected from a replacement player?

Jurgens has the athleticism to be effective in open space, which can translate well to the guard position for a lineman who can pull on running plays and block defenders at the second level.

He caught the eyes of Philadelphia Eagles fans with an excellent performance during the 2022 preseason. However, the performance of healthy veteran offensive linemen kept him off the field during most of the regular season and the playoffs.  

The power of a freight train with Johnson and Jurgens on the right side and Kelce in the middle is even scarier than the dominant offensive line in 2022.

Howie Roseman took input from Kelce when evaluating Jurgens before the 2022 NFL Draft. He trusted the future Hall of Fame center enough to spend a second-round pick on a player expected to contribute very minimally during his rookie season.

Roseman has historically prioritized raw athleticism and the versatility to play multiple positions as two particular strengths of offensive linemen during draft evaluations. 

Jurgens checks the first box with excellent athleticism as a former tight end, and the Eagles wouldn’t have used a premium pick on a player they considered limited exclusively to the center position with Kelce coming off an All-Pro season in 2021.

The former Nebraska Cornhuskers star will need some offseason work at Jeff Stoutland University, but he's lucky to have one of the best position coaches in the NFL in addition to the veteran leaders Kelce and Johnson.

Sirianni isn’t going to hand out starting spots to players with hardly any experience at a new position months before training camp.

The Eagles didn’t rely on rookies often on their way to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII. Undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship stunningly played more playoff snaps on offense or defense than any other rookie.

However, Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean will see an opportunity to play bigger roles on defense in 2023.

On the offensive side, it sure looks like Cam Jurgens will have his chance to show the NFL the tools that enamored Kelce and the Eagles with a breakout season in 2023.

It is that time of the year! NFL (mock) draft season! The draft will go down April 27th-29th LIVE from Kansas City Missouri. The three day event should see Howie Roseman and the Eagles be very active as the team has two first round picks (pick 10 and pick 30) but hold only 5 picks total. Howie could trade down to recoup some picks. He could trade up to grab a player he targeted. He could trade a first round pick for a current stud player who is in a contract battle with his current team, like he did last year with AJ Brown.

The beauty of Howie Roseman is he works in the shadows. Last season no one saw him snagging AJ Brown for one of the team's first round picks. But he did. He was able to get Brown, and pay him. Something the Titans were not willing to do. They then used the pick they got from the Eagles to draft Treylon Burks. A player who scouts said "Could be AJ Brown." AJ Brown proceeded to have the best season of any wide receiver to wear an Eagles uniform.

So what about this season?

Our own NFL Draft expert Jamie "The Bro" Lynch is BACK! He is in "the lab" (as the kids say) and has been crunching the numbers. Making phone calls. Watching the tape. Jamie will give you a mock of the top 10 picks, ending with the Eagles drafting 10th overall. "I cant do picks 1-30....I dont have the stamina," Jamie told us. "Low motor."

We kicked it off last week with Jamie Lynch's Mock Draft 2.0, because I just forgot to include the 1.0. This week is 3.0 Make sure to tweet Jamie your thoughts about his picks on twitter @JeLynchJr

Jamie has the Panthers trading up for their franchise QB. Stroud has been tagged to go #1 for a while, and he goes #1 here.

The Texans desperately need a quarterback and they get a really good one in Alabama's Bryce Young.

back to back Alabama players go top 3 ion the draft. "I just dont think the Cardinals pass on a talent like that" Jamie told the morning show. Anderson can give the Cardinals a dominant pass rush.

Anthony Richardson goes to Shane Steichen as the former Eagles offensive coordinator gets his franchise QB.

The Seahawks could go Will Levis here but they decide to go with arguably the best defensive player in the draft.

The Lions get the first corner off the board with Christian Gonzalez. Pairing him with former top 5 pick Jeff Okudah

Vegas could look to grab a QB, something they need, OR....they could draft a guy to PROTECT whoever they throw out at QB...they choose the latter. Paris Johnson goes off the board as the top tackle.

The Falcons have attempted to overhaul their offense the last few years and now they look to improve the defense. They Falcons have only gone offense once in the last five draft classes but that one time they took CB AJ Terrell. They now go Devin Witherspoon, who some have as the best CB in the draft.

The Bears have their franchise QB. Now its time to protect him. They will look to do that by grabbing Skoronski, the top tackle on the board.

The Eagles desperately need depth at the defensive line. There are a lot of places the Birds could go here but they elect to go with Texas Tech product Tyree Wilson. He will be paired with Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat