PFF loves Jeff Stoutland and the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line

Normally, when a team loses an All-Pro guard to retirement, their offensive line will take a step back.

Granted, one man alone can’t make-or-break an offensive line, especially when they play guard, but when a team has to replace a player of that caliber with even just an average starter, it can affect the entire ecosystem of an offense; like removing bees from a garden.

And yet, that’s the exact situation the Philadelphia Eagles found themselves in heading into the 2022 NFL offseason, and, other than adding a developmental center in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the name of Cam Jurgens, Howie Roseman opted against adding another big-time player to his depth chart – instead holding strong and trusting the depth he’d already assembled.

The results? Well, according to PFF, the Philadelphia Eagles have the best offensive line in the NFL, which shouldn’t be too surprising, considering Jeff Stoutland is a certified wizard in the trenches who could probably coax a few good snaps out of any 300-pound so and so off the street.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ o-line should have no problem moving the ball this fall.

Despite being without their top running back for much of the 2021 NFL season, the Philadephia Eagles were largely able to move the ball because of their offensive line.

Not to take credit away from Boston Scott, Jordan Howard, and Kenneth Gainwell, who all did their jobs well when their number was called, but in the Eagles’ offense, which deploys a zone-blocking scheme designed around the line opening up running holes for backs, Jeff Stoutland’s ability to coordinate the run game like a finely-tuned machine is a big reason why the run game actually got better when Miles Sanders went on ice.

In the passing game, Stoutland’s unit was similarly effective, allowing just 31 sacks on Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew over 17 games – a statistic made all the more impressive when you consider Minshew was taken down three times in Week 17 with largely backup performers protecting the pocket. Because the Eagles have a running quarterback, their sack number will always be slightly inflated. But, if Nick Sirianni recalibrates his offense to prioritize quick strikes over long developing concepts, the need for Hurts to freelance behind the line should go down considerably.

Remember, a big reason why the Eagles had the top rushing offense in the NFL last season was because of Hurts’ legs; pulling blockers like Landon Dickerson and Jason Kelce is a big reason for that success.

Generally speaking, relying on preseason position gradings to determine the eventual success of a team is unreliable, to put it kindly. All it takes is a few injuries to drop a promising unit from elite to “can be beat,” and even the deepest depth charts can be tested relatively easily. With that being said, Howie Roseman has built up a very good stockpile of big uglies up front who should remain one of the best units in the league even if they suffer a few bumps and bruises.