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In the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Oregon State's Isaac Seumalo. He's an offensive lineman who started most of his college games at center. But he also played tackle. Oh, and he's a guard, too. Wait, so which one is it?
"We’re going to start him out at guard," Howie Roseman said shortly after drafting Seumalo on Friday evening. "He’s incredibly smart, son of a coach, and someone we had targeted all along and we were really excited to be able to pick him at 79."
The Eagles' addition of Seumalo to their offensive line is an important one. The Birds have been thin on the offensive line in recent years after not drafting one since 2013. Now they have a player who will challenge for a starting job at left guard. And if he's not starting, Seumalo can serve as a backup at multiple positions.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the state of the Eagle's offensive line, working from the left to right.
Left tackle - Jason Peters
When healthy, Peters is one of the best in the game. He's a future Hall of Famer. The only problem is he's struggled to stay healthy. Peters will turn 35 after this season. Starting right tackle Lane Johnson is expected to replace Peters when the veteran is done.
Left guard - Allen Barbre
Barbre gets the edge for now because he's the incumbent. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland really likes him. Last summer he said Barbre is "very underrated." But it's not like Barbre is so good that he's above competition. He'll be challenged by Seumalo. Doug Pederson also mentioned 2015 undrafted free agent Malcolm Bunche as one of the players competing for the starting job. Maybe Stefen Wisniewski will get a look at guard as well?
Center - Jason Kelce
Kelce has shown that he can be really good when healthy. He had a Pro Bowl season in 2014 before having a disastrous injury-plagued season in 2015. Seumalo and Wisniewski serve as insurance if Kelce gets hurt and/or bottoms out again.
Right guard - Brandon Brooks
No competition here. The Eagles gave Brooks a big contract in free agency and he'll be the starter.
Right tackle - Lane Johnson
Johnson received a contract extension this offseason to make him one of the highest paid tackles in the league. His contract clearly suggests he's the left tackle of the future. Now it's just a matter of the Eagles finding someone to replace Johnson at right tackle when he moves over to the left side. The Eagles don't have that guy yet. They might look for another tackle in the draft.