3 Ex-Philadelphia Eagles negatively affected by the 2022 NFL Draft

After spending the first act of his career as a supersized right guard with the Philadelphia Eagles, Matt Pryor was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in the summer of 2021 after the additions of Landon Dickerson made his spot on the roster unnecessary.

Sidebar: Sound familiar?

Despite his lack of athleticism and perceived incompatibility with the Eagles’ zone blocking scheme, Pryor made the move out to tackle with his new team and, against all odds, found his way into the starting lineup as a tackle opposite ex-first overall pick Eric Fisher. With Fisher expected to leave in free agency – which he ultimately did do – many expected to see Pryor slide over to left tackle as the most obvious in-house replacement, but the chances of that happening took a hit on Day 2 of the draft, when general manager Chris Ballard selected a 6-foot-7, 290-pound tackle out of Central Michigan by the name of Bernhard Raimann.

Is Raimann a lock to protect Matt Ryan’s blindside this fall? No, not necessarily, but he is a far better athlete than Pryor and has more upside at the position long-term too. If Pryor is going to stick around in Indianapolis long-term, it might have to be on the right side, where the team already has Braden Smith locked in at tackle.