EAGLES O-LINE SHOWING IT CAN BE COUNTED ON
- Al Thompson
- 9 minutes ago
- 7 min read
FOXBOROUGH: Many football fans can't stand the preseason.
The reasons are fair.
The starters don't play much, if at all. The games don't count.
The coaches focus more on situational football and learn what plays to call when certain situations present themselves when the real season starts.
One thing Eagles fans can look at after the first two preseason games and treat it as a positive is the improving depth of the offensive line.
Many observers believe that if the Birds are to regain the form of the 2024 championship season it revolves around the play of the offensive line. To have a great offensive line, the unit needs depth.
Last, as we all know, last year the Eagles offensive line struggled mainly because of injuries to Pro Bowl linemen Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson.
In a recent press gathering, Dickerson admitted he probably should not have played last year.
The only quality backups head coach Nick Sirianni could lean on with Fred Johnson and Brett Toth.
It wasn't nearly enough.
Toth moved on after last season. On March 12, 2026, Toth signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson is back. But who will be the depth of the 2026?
The Eagles backup offense looked lost last week against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Stadium. The Birds posted a goose egg deep into the fourth quarter.
Saturday night in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the Eagles offense looked much better.
Starters Fred Johnson, Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin, Jake Majors and Markel Bell rolled 77 yards on the Eagles second drive for a touchdown combining 33 yards rushing by Will Shipley and 44 yards passing by veteran quarterback Andy Dalton.
Dalton, who has not played well in either preseason game, finished his night 3 of 10 for 44 yards and a quarterback rating of 45.4.
Tanner McKee entered in the second quarter and played until the final drive the 24-21 loss.
The signal caller, who is entering his fourth season since getting drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Stanford, was 16 of 22 for 173 yards, two touchdown passes, no turnovers and a quarterback rating of 125.8.
The Eagles offense racked up 301 total yards of offense against the Patriots compared to 159 yards last week in Baltimore.
Offensive linemen who came off the bench Saturday night included Myles Hinton, Zeke Correll, Cameron Williams, Micah Morris and Michael Jordan.
A big part of the improvement of the offense is the play of the offensive line. Last week the unit only gave up one sack, but it just wasn't producing any impact plays.
Sirianni went for it three times on fourth down, he did not use the “Tush Push” and was 1 of 3 on his attempts.
It is hard to imagine Sirianni would not have taken the three points on two of those attempts if this was a regular season game.
Majors, an interior lineman, played the whole game, the first quarter at guard, then after Willie Lampkin was pulled, he played center the rest of the game.
He was asked if the O-line played much this week.
“One hundred percent,” said Majors, the former Texas standout who went undrafted in 2025. “That's what happens when you practice...you get more comfortable in the system. You're able to learn off what you did in the first game, get more from the joint practices then then this game. Then you hammer out the basics in this game...we are very confident.”
After he spent the 2025 summer in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp, he was released.
On September 9, 2025, Majors was signed to the Eagles' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 12, 2026.
The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder said he doesn't ask offensive line coach Chris Kuper how much time he will get in these preseason games.
Majors said he was told he was starting, and that was about it.
“I knew I was going to start,” Majors said. “But after that it was kind of like, 'we'll see how things go.' There were a couple of injuries that happened that called for me to play the whole game. Any way I can step up and anchor the offensive line, I'll do it.”
Majors, who is obviously looking to make the 53-man roster, talked about his and the room's mental approach as camp comes to a close next Friday.
“We take it one day at a time,” Majors said. “Every day we're trying to be a little bit better than we were the day before. Everybody in this offensive line unit is pushing each other to just get better every day. I believe everybody in that O-line room is making a case.
"I'm very proud of the the leadership to be a part of this O-line and just push each other every day to go make those cases.”
OTHER VOICES
Fred Johnson asked about the line's improvement from last week.
“I think we took the coaching instruction we got, fixed a couple things and tried to make a statement this game,” Johnson said at his locker after the game. “As far as being dominant in what we were doing out assignments, being a cohesive unit...obviously we just had (joint) practice with them, obviously the energy was up during the week. I think that translated into the game as far as what we do best...is moving furniture.”
Johnson was asked about a brand-new face in the O-Line room, who got in the game in the fourth quarter of a one-score NFL preseason game.
Interior lineman Zeke Correll was signed by the Eagles on August 21.
After not being selected in the 2025 NFL draft, Correll signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent.
He was waived on August 12, 2025, with an injury designation and reverted to injured reserve the following day. On March 13, 2026, Correll was waived by the Vikings.
Just a day before the Birds backups took the field against New England, Correll, who was coached by Chris Kuper during his one-year cup of coffee in Minneapolis, said he knew he might get in the game. The 6-3, 307-pound center/guard kept in shape during his time off, said he knew he might get in the game.
“They (coaches) said I may get a few reps, Correll said. “I didn't think I'd be in for that long.”
It should be noted that cornerback Isaiah Bolden – signed the same day as Correll - also got snaps at the end of the New England game.
Johnson said he was impressed with Correll, who was in the game for the Eagles touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a 20-yard pass from McKee to running back Carson Steele with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Birds a 21-17 lead.
“He came in and did a great job,” Johnson said as he glanced over at Correll at his locker. “He came in yesterday; I literally heard him introducing himself to Coach Sirianni. He stepped in and did a great job, especially with the long drive they to go down and score...opportunity meets preparation.
"If you prepare the right way, there's no telling what you can do under any circumstances.”
Johnson was asked about restoring depth to this offensive line. Did they take a step in that direction Saturday night?
“Yeah, I think so,” Johnson said at first then changed directions. “But if you are talk about for the season, I fell like we are still trying to figure out a lot of the pieces. There's still a lot of ball to be played. We still have another (preseason) game coming up.
"Things will start panning out to what they are supposed to be towards the end of the week. I'm excited about the guys that we have, the guys in this room. I'm excited to see how this translates into the season.”
Second year center Willie Lampkin has enjoyed a great camp this summer.
Lampkin was claimed off waivers by the Eagles on August 27, 2025, after getting released by the Rams. He placed on injured reserve two days later.
He talked about his status.
“I feel like I've been doing well,” Lamkin said at his locker after the game. “Being around these guys that have been helping me. I fell like being around these guys, my game has improve just being around these guys.”
Can he add the depth the Eagles are looking for?
“I'm not sure yet,” Lampkin said. “But I feel like I've got to keep working, finish out the preseason game..I'll know then.”
Jordan Davis on the Eagles offensive line depth. He thinks the offensive line does have the depth they need.
“I would say they're pretty deep,” Davis said at his locker after the Patriots game. We've been hit with the injury bug here and there, other than that, they have good depth, the guys are learning. When the time comes, we'll see what happens.”
NOTE: You can hear a pin drop here a Gillette Stadium as medical professionals tend to Eagles running back Ja'Quinden Jackson, who was injured on the opening kickoff.
He laid motionless on the field for too long.
At some point Jackson did started to move his fingers and other extremities.
Jackson was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance. The entire Eagles team came on to the field to applaud Jackson as he was loaded into the ambulance.
After the game, Sirianni said the reports the team received from the hospital were encouraging. *
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballkstories.com
Some information taken from wikipedia.com .
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