Most training camps work the same way. There are slight differences here and there. The names on the back of the jerseys change even if the names on the front don’t. Year in and year out, however, each time the Philadelphia Eagles gear up for another slate of preseason games, we’re enjoying the same discussions.
Who are the surprises? Whose tumbling down the depth chart? Are there any dark horse candidates to make the roster, or are there any veterans playing their way off of it?
Stop us if any of these conversations sound like a few you have been having.
The O-line is always a discussion, especially seeing as how Philly’s is normally elite and they are led by the best in the biz, Jeff Stoutland. We haven’t had to worry about the anchor for more than a decade.
We can thank Jason Kelce for that, and even though, he has ridden off into the sunset, we believe in Cam Jurgens and three of the other five starters (shout out to Jordan Mailata, Landon Dicekerson, and Lane Johnson). That just leads us to one question.
Whose going to win the starting right guard competition? By most accounts, the race has seemingly come down to a conversation about two of the youngsters.
Has Mekhi Becton placed a stranglehold on the Eagles’ starting right guard position?
This will probably date us and serve as evidence that we have gotten old, but there are old phrases we used to hear often. Maybe it was our grandfathers who got them stuck in our memories.
Here’s one… ‘You can’t lose your job because of injury’. Yep. That’s right up there with ‘offense sells tickets and defense wins championships’. Here’s the thing. While the second phrase can be debated, we found out the first theory was a lie a long time ago. Guys lose their jobs because of injury all the time. Take Tyler Steen for instance.
Steen was drafted as someone the Eagles leadership structure hoped could develop into a starting level player. As a rookie in 2023, he appeared in 11 games with one start.
He wasn’t dominant in that start. He wasn’t terrible either. Heck, we’re happy with him. Steen found his way into our hearts the day he jumped on a fumble versus the Dallas Cowboys. Had he not done so, who knows how that Week 9 affair would have gone. It was certainly one of the more important and forgotten big plays of last year’s campaign.
There’s a lot to like about the former Vanderbilt and Alabama star. A Second-Team All-SEC nod in 2022, he started during a trip to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. Philly made him the 65th overall selection during Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the rest, as they say, is some very recent history.
Steen took most of the starting right guard snaps when training camp practices began. The new guy, former first-round selection Mekhi Becton, saw time at left guard when Landon Dickerson began camp injured. He saw time starting at right guard when Steen injured his ankle during a Saturday afternoon practice (July 27th).
Steen wouldn’t sit out long. He returned to work on August 5th, coincidentally on the same day that Becton returned after missing one session with an illness. Guess what came next. Any ideas?
Since that happened, two practices have passed, and it has been Becton, not Steen, running with the first-team offense. So much for ‘not being in danger of losing your job because of an injury’, right?
Becton has held our attention throughout camp. We know Jeff Stoutland liked him and pounded the table for an opportunity to coach him. This is a former first-rounder who stands at six-foot-seven and tips the scales at 363 pounds. Talk about a lump of coal that has the potential of becoming a diamond.
Mekhi Becton learning from Jeff Stoutland? Think of the possibilities!
So, where does that leave Tyler Steen? He isn’t as massive as Becton, but he also looks the part of an NFL starter at six-foot-six and 321 pounds.
Is he relegated to reserve duty now? Well, the truth is no one knows the answer. Again, it stands to reason that Philly selected him on Day 2 of a draft hoping he’d develop into a starter.
The long and short of everything is this. Overall, this is a good problem to have. Jeff Stoutland likes having a room full of guys who can hold down starting roles if called upon. By the looks of things, he has that with Becton and Steen regardless of how this battle for a starting spot turns out.
Keep a close watch. We’ll most certainly be doing the same thing.
