The Philadelphia Eagles can’t afford to play Matt Pryor at LT

The Philadelphia Eagles need to keep Matt Pryor far away from the LT position.

When Philadelphia Eagles starring LT Andre Dillard was ruled out for the 2020 season due to a torn biceps, the general assumption was that future Hall of Famer Jason Peters would just slide on back over to the left tackle position. He was initially re-signed this offseason to replace Brandon Brooks at right guard, but considering the importance of protecting Carson Wentz‘ blind side, it would make more sense to have him replace Dillard at tackle.

However, due to Peters making some impromptu contract demands (wanting more money to play LT), the Eagles seemed at least interested in the idea of keeping Peters at guard, and trying out one of their younger guys at LT. The first man called upon was that of last year’s sixth-round selection: Matt Pryor.

Pryor has been a big time Jeff Stoutland favorite on the Eagles offensive line, as he was praised heavily during his rookie season. Despite being taken towards the back of the 2019 draft class, Pryor developed enough during his first season in the NFL that the team felt comfortable starting him at RG during the team’s sole playoff game.

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Pryor looked pretty good at RG during that game, holding his own against one of the better defenses in the entire NFL. The Eagles have done well with their offensive line development in the past, and Pryor seemed like the next youngster to start blossoming.

However, Pryor is very clearly a guard, not a tackle.

Doug Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles experimented with Pryor at LT during the team’s practice Sunday morning, and it resulted in quite the disaster. The former TCU lineman allowed three sacks to backup DE Josh Sweat, and he just seemed all over the place in terms of comfort and footwork. You can’t necessarily blame Pryor, as switching from RG all the way over to LT is quite the change to make in just one day.

The team also experimented with Jordan Mailata and rookie Prince Tega Wanogho at LT as well, and both struggled in their own regards. Mailata was always a longterm developmental project, and he’s still yet to log an actual NFL snap. Expecting him to become an every down starting LT without a preseason seems tad foolish.

Tega Wanogho on the other hand has a plethora of LT experience playing for the collegiate powerhouse that is Auburn, however he’s struggled during practice in his own manner. Similar to Mailata, it’s foolish to expect a completely fresh player to become a starting-caliber tackle.

Starting Pryor at left tackle is the best move for the Philadelphia Eagles in terms of their financial standing, but it’s certainly not the best move in terms of actually winning football games. The team has already suffered an extreme amount of offseason injuries thus far, and they can’t afford losing Wentz to a blindside hit in Week 1.

Peters demanding more money to simply switch positions has rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, but the Eagles really don’t have much of a choice. Pryor looked like a disaster at LT during practice, and that’s just not something the team has time to further experiment with. Bite the bullet, give JP a raise, and let Pryor thrive at his natural position on the interior.