Philadelphia Eagles: Where does Nate Herbig fit in his contract year?

In every draft, there are winners, and there are losers.

A player will hear their name called later than expected, a team will miss out on the perfect situation and instead land in an unadvantageous landing spot, and veterans will, unfortunately, find themselves cornered by a younger, better player who wants nothing more than to steal away his job.

It’s as inevitable as it is expected, and unfortunately, it’s just the name of the game for leagues that rely on amateur drafts to procure their next crop of ascending players.

Nate Herbig, one of the few success stories of the otherwise crappy 2020 NFL season, falls into that category for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Once considered among the best developmental linemen on the Eagles’ roster, especially on the interior, Herbig now finds himself on a team with one of the best interior offensive linemen in recent memory, Landon Dickerson, going into the final season of his three-year contract. While his prospects may not have been ideal heading into draft weekend, finding a spot for Herbig to shine just became a whole lot more difficult in what should have been a building block year towards a bigger role down the line.

Or did it?

Nate Herbig may play more than people think for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.

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Last season, Nate Herbig was a Week 1 starter for the Philadelphia Eagles, beating out presumed top reserve Matt Pryor for the honor seemingly out of the blue.

That was the right call.

Despite the unheralded way his professional career began, going undrafted out of Stanford after turning in the worst 40 times of any player in attendance, the ex-Cardinal surprisingly made the initial 53 man roster in 2019 and remained gainfully employed all season long. Herbig followed that feat up by earning first-team snaps at right guard in camp as a second-year pro following Brandon Brooks‘ Achilles tear and finishing out his sophomore pro campaign with 12 starts versus 15 appearances while serving as the team’s highest-graded guard, according to our pals over at PFF.

While Herbig was benched midseason, first due to injury, then due to Doug Pederson thinking the likes of Jamon Brown could hold up better as a run blocker – *spoiler alert* he wasn’t – the big fella worked his way back onto the field and closed out the season in good standing; looking like the type of pass blocking offensive guards who remain employed by NFL teams for a very long time.

But here’s the thing about Herbig’s performance in 2020: It was always temporary.

Even if Herbig played as well as he did in Week 1 over a full season, he wouldn’t have been able to unseat Brooks if the two were both 100 percent healthy and that, unfortunately for the former, appears to be how things are shaking out. While Herbig could have surely still been in the running to compete for the left guard spot held with a loose hand by Isaac Seumalo, it felt like a borderline lock that he’d be entering camp as a top reserve when 2021 rolled around; a role Herbig surely would have been fine with, considering the meek start to his career.

Landon Dickerson’s presence changes that.

Had he not suffered a nasty string of injuries over his college career split between Florida State and Alabama, Dickerson likely would have been a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, maybe even one selected in the top-20. Assuming he’s good to go come training camp, let alone Week 1, Dickerson will surely be active for every game of the 2021 NFL season and will likely see the field in a starting role sooner than later, depending on injuries and the play of Seumalo.

In a vacuum, Dickerson is a better player than Herbig in every way. He’s taller, better built, and far more athletic, with similar skills against the pass and a notable boost against the run as a willing mover of men. While the duo could conceivably play together on the same line, with one at guard and the other either at center or the other guard spot, Dickerson would win out that battle nine times out of 10, especially later in the season.

Early though, Herbig’s experience playing for Jeff Stoutland may give him a slight edge if the Eagles need a guard/center in the month of September.

Assuming Dickerson is limited in camp, Herbig could surely hear his name called early and often in camp, where he will surely take snaps at all three interior spots depending on the situation. If Brooks or Jason Kelce go down early, or Seumalo struggles through one of his rough spots, Herbig could find himself a spot starter once more and hold onto it for as long as he’s playing well, or until Dickerson beats him out.

Something tells me if Herbig again plays like PFF’s 13th ranked guard, it’ll be hard to keep him on the bench, especially when you consider Seumalo’s inability to remain on the field and be productive for a full

17 games.

Next. Howie Roseman has learned from his draft mistakes. dark

There’s a world where Nate Herbig, Landon Dickerson, and Isaac Seumalo come together to form a rock-solid interior unit in the five-headed Voltron that is the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line. That unit has a good mix of speed, athleticism, and power and could serve as a stable core to build an offense around for years to come. But in 2021, it’s very hard to see a world where all three of those players are starting unless things go really, really well, or really, really bad. While Landon Dickerson may get most of the headlines and hype, don’t count out Nate Herbig just yet, as he could still be a vital cog for the Eagles in 2021 and earn a long-term extension shortly thereafter.

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