Investments pay off
Lane Johnson is one of the greatest players in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his story is not yet finished.
But he is going to be 35 when the 2025 season starts. Even Lane Johnson can only hold off the rush of Father Time for so long. The Eagles have built two Super Bowl winners and reached a third by investing in the offensive line. Even though Johnson signed a contract extension that signals he’s playing for at least a few more seasons, it is never too early to find an eventual successor. At the very least, the Eagles need a backup for Johnson, who hasn’t been available for every game in a season since 2015.
One problem this year is that the draft is full of linemen who played offensive tackle in college but whose future in the NFL is probably at guard. Just ten players at the Combine measured with 34” or longer arms. Arm length isn’t everything, but teams generally do not put players with shorter than 34” arms at tackle.
I wanted to see what ROUND and what ARM LENGTH NFL starters have at left and right tackle. So, here’s a chart.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout.bsky.social) 2025-03-12T19:17:15.950Z
To quote Bill Parcells, who was quoting Tom Landry, “if you start drafting exceptions, pretty soon you’re going to have a team full of exceptions.”
But there’s a problem, specific to this draft class: body measurements at the Senior Bowl and Combine, done by the same people, have been inconsistent. Jalen Milroe’s hands measured 8 ¾” at the Senior Bowl and 9 ⅜” at the Combine. Marcus Mbow’s arm length was 32” at the Senior Bowl and 33” at the Combine. Many other offensive linemen had at least a half inch difference in arm length. So we can’t completely trust the measurements this spring. Still, there are a lot of tackle/guard prospects rather than straight up tackle prospects. If we added half an inch to everyone’s arm length, there would only be 14 players who cracked 34”. Last year there were 26.
If we look at every offensive tackle acquired under Jeff Stoutland, we can come up with a prototype of measurements: 6’5.5”, 34” arms, 10” hands, a sub 1.8 10 yard split, a vertical of at least 28.5, a broad jump of at least 106.5, a shuttle time of 4.8 or better, and a 3 cone of 7.8 or better.
The Eagles have brought in five offensive linemen who meet most of these criteria:
Anthony Belton, NC State
Belton just looks like a guard. A 6’6” guard, but a guard nonetheless. He’s 336 pounds and moves like it. Drafting Belton would be trying to repeat the Mekhi Becton experiment. There are far worse plans to try to repeat.
Josh Conerly, Oregon
When the season ended, Conerly was seen as a day two prospect. Now, on the verge of the draft, he’s seen as a potential late first rounder. Conerly is a good athlete, Oregon pulled him on runs quite a bit, and he has a nasty streak you like to see. But after a solid first season as a starter in 2023, he didn’t significantly elevate his game in 2024 to rise to the top of an uninspiring OT class.
Charles Grant, William & Mary
Grant’s athletic testing disappointed, but the tape shows he’s an FBS caliber player on an FCS team. Against the run he is a finisher, and as a pass protector W&M would often split the OL into two: Grant on his own against his man, and then everyone else. He didn’t let them down. Before the Eagles could bring anyone in for visits he felt like a Stoutland type of player, and the Eagles bringing him in seals that. As a bonus, by all accounts he is a great guy, and in 2023 donated his bone marrow to a stranger.
Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
Milam has played both left and right tackle, so he could work as a swing tackle. If the Eagles would let him. Milum has 32” arms, one of many short armed OT prospects this year. Any team that drafts him (and several other short armed OTs) should give him a chance at tackle, but the Eagles made Tyler Steen a guard before giving him a shot at tackle.
Jalen Travis, Iowa State
Travis, who transferred from Princeton for the 2024 season, is a day three developmental prospect, but an interesting one. 6’8”, 35” arms, and a strong athletic profile with the best vertical in this OT class and the third best broad jump. As a player, he needs some work. Unsurprisingly because of his size he is not nimble, and he isn’t a great run blocker. The size is worth taking a chance on.
