Philadelphia Eagles Mock Draft Mondays: Week 8 Edition

After Carson Wentz led the Indianapolis Colts to a Sunday night win over the San Fransico 49ers, the Eagles would have the 13th pick in the NFL draft (per Tankathon). That is assuming, of course, that Wentz plays either 75 percent (currently at 98.9 percent per Jimmy Kempski) of the Colts’ offensive snaps this season or that he plays 70 percent and the Colts make the playoffs.

While it was fun dreaming about three top-10 picks, the 10-20 range for the Colts pick was always much more realistic. Thankfully, there’s still a great deal of talent in this range. One such talented player is the center for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Tyler Linderbaum.

The game of football is won and lost in the trenches. That is a philosophy that is near and dear to the hearts of Howie Roseman and Jefferey Laurie. In this mock draft, the Eagles have already addressed one position on the defensive line. Now, it’s time to look at the O-Line.

Yes, the Eagles drafted Landon Dickerson in the second round last season to be the heir-apparent for Jason Kelce. Unfortunately, this season has shown that the offensive line as we know it is not longed to stay together.

Jason Kelce clearly isn’t having a good time anymore, nor is Lane Johnson. There’s no reason to suggest this is their last year in Philadelphia, but Kelce has pondered retirement before, and it’s fair to question if Johnson gets the Zach Ertz treatment at some point. All that without even acknowledging that the Eagles may very well move on from Brandon Brooks after the season.
That’s enough about the need for more talent on the offensive line. Now let’s talk about why Tyler Linderbaum is the solution (or at least part of it).

When looking at Linderbaum’s athletic profile, it’s hard to not see shades of Jason Kelce. The fluidity he possesses and his ability to reach and operate successfully at the second level are elite. Pair that athleticism with the Eagles’ other young linemen like Dickerson and Jordan Mailata, and the left side of the line looks secured for the next 10-ish years.

In addition to his athleticism, another key aspect of Linderbaum’s game is how cerebral he is. He processes the type of awareness teams desire from all offensive linemen, especially from the center position. He’s always analyzing the opposing line, understands how to properly use leverage to his advantage, and is all-around technically proficient from his hands to his base.

Again, it seemed Dickerson was brought in to eventually replace Kelce, but his calling card has always been athletic versatility. In college, he played center, guard, and even tackle, and while he’s unlikely (hopefully) to play tackle at the NFL level, he’s done a nice job so far at guard, leaving the door wide open for a talented player like Linderbaum to be the Eagles’ center of the future.