There was a belief in some corners of social media and among various media types that the Eagles offensive line would take a step backwards after Jason Kelce retired in the offseason.
Third-year lineman Cam Jurgens, who the Eagles spent a second-round pick on in 2022, was stepping in, but he was moving from right guard, so that opened a spot there, too.
Suddenly, the loss of one Hall of Fame center initiated two question marks.
In case nobody knows it by now (unlikely), it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate the powers of Jeff Stoutland, the excellent offensive line coach whose hiring was the biggest thing Chip Kelly got right in his three-plus years as the head coach when he brought him in from the University of Alabama in 2013.
And now we know not to underestimate Jurgens’ ability to play center and Mekhi Becton right guard. Howie Roseman pulled the trigger on selecting Jurgens and it was the general manager who gave Becton a one-year deal during free agency.
Becton has been so good that he should be next in line for a contract extension behind linebacker Zack Baun, who also arrived on a one-year deal.
Kelce also gets credit for encouraging Roseman to draft Jurgens after studying tape and meeting the young center from Nebraska. It was a somewhat surprising pick to grab a replacement for Kelce, who had just earned his fourth straight Associated Press first-team All-Pro honor.
There always seems to be a ground swell for the Eagles to find a replacement for Lane Johnson, so right tackle seems to be in the draft conversation every spring, and was in 2022, too.
Instead, they went with Jurgens, who has not only proven to be a solid answer to Kelce but also a bit of a character.
When he was drafted, he got the news 10 minutes after his cell phone buzzed with a tornado alert, taking the call from Roseman as the family made their way to the storm cellar at their home in Beatrice, Neb., a small town of about 15,000 people.
We learned that he makes his own beef jerky, too, calling it ‘Beef Jurgy,’ and he bought a sign that linebacker Ben VanSumeren hung at his locker across the aisle from Jurgens’ locker last year saying, “Beware of the Dog,” a nod to VanSumeren’s penchant for sleepwalking and sometimes barking like a dog when he does.
Now, we see what Jurgens is capable of at center.
The block he made on Barkley’s 39-yard touchdown run just 20 seconds after Barkley’s 23-yard touchdown run that helped the Eagles open some distance between themselves and the Commanders was downright ouch-worthy.
Jurgens vaulted to the second level on the 39-yard run and knocked Washington safety Percy Butler right on his behind. When Butler got up, Jurgens knocked him down again. It was those blocks that paved the way for Barkley.
Undersized a bit, like Kelce, Jurgens has the same athleticism his predecessor had, and the smarts to diagnose defense and put his lineman in good position. It’s not always perfect, but it’s been well above average and figures only to improve with Jurgens having just turned 25 last August.
Roseman could have gone elsewhere when he was on the clock with the 51st overall pick in 2022. Three receivers went right after the center, who played right guard last year – George Pickens, Alec Pierce, and Skyy Moore.
An offensive tackle, Luke Goedeke went six picks later to Tampa and is doing well as a start for the Bucs. Another center, Kentucky’s Luke Fortner went No. 65 to the Jaguars, who started him all 17 games in his first two years but is now coming off the bench.
The pick of Jurgens was sandwiched by the Eagles’ selection of Jordan Davis arriving in the first round and Nakobe Dean in the third. Grant Calcaterra came in the sixth, with the now-gone Kyron Johnson also in the sixth.
Jurgens’ emergence into what looks like a center for the next decade, along with the emergence of Dean and Calcaterra, has made that draft class even stronger.
