Licht hasn't really committed to o-line depth.
Interesting question.
I dont think Licht has had the draft resources given the needs on defense, but Howie Roseman is considered gold standard of GMs. Eagles were concerned with O-line depth in the 2025 offseason and so used a combination of methods to add SIX or SEVEN PLAYERS as O-line depth. The article is at the bottom. That commitment yielded the following depth:
Drew Kendall (5th) - 2nd G/C (similar to our 5th round draft of Schrauth)
Myles Hinton (6th)- CUT
Cameron Williams (6th)- CUT
Willie Lampkin (waiver claim)- 3rd Center
Jake Majors (UFA) - Practice squad (maybe 3rd or 4th center)
Hollin Pierce - CUT
they then also traded a future 7th round pick top Jags for Fred Johnson
So 1 or 2 guys, only deep depth.
And then in this years draft they STILL used a 3rd round pick on Markell Bell, injured presently but 2nd OT, and a 6th round pick on Micah Morris, also presently injured but 3rd G behind 2025 5th round pick Drew Kendall.
SO, a good chunk of late draft capital yielding very limited results?
**************
"Eagles O-Line Depth Concerns Put Spotlight on Second-Year Players
The Eagles took a lot of swings on offensive linemen on Day 3 of the NFL Draft""In the 2025 NFL Draft, Philadelphia carpet-bombed the offensive line on Day 3, selecting fifth-round interior player Drew Kendall, and sixth-round tackles Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams.
Later, the Eagles added two more interior prospects by claiming the undersized Willie Lampkin off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams and signing long-time former Texas starting OC Jake Majors. Add in undrafted OT Hollin Pierce, who spent most of last season on the practice squad, and GM Howie Roseman provided six swings of the bat just as the baton gets handed from Jeff Stoutland to Chris Kuper in the offensive line room
Conflating the effort vs the outcome.
You can be committed to building o-line depth then draft trash
Not sure if you misread or not? I wasn't combining the two. I was just saying that this is how a highly respected GM dealt with a perceived lack of depth in the O-line.
I would say the Eagles were substantially committed to adding depth to their line but it didnt work out very well, so they even had to go back to the draft again. But, one could argue "not that committed" because they mostly only allocated 5th and 6th and 7th round picks to it, which is about as remote a chance as it comes (although maybe best for O-line)
Ultimately, you'd have to compare Licht's approach. and even then people mostly say the O-line depth lacks depth after a year like last year where the starters never played together. Have a year like 2024 and everyone is going "wow what a great line."
I think posters underappreciate the extent of the O-line injuries last year (sometimes intentionally so). If you read about it Licht's approach to the O-line is the same as Rosemans
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/eagles-interior-offensive-line-depth-145725027.html
"Howie Roseman entered training camp with questions about the Philadelphia Eagles' interior offensive line depth. The development of Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin and Micah Morris provided encouraging answers. Roseman identified the group as one of his primary concerns entering the summer. Philadelphia had established starters in Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens and Tyler Steen, but needed young reserves to prove they could provide dependable depth.
Kendall and Lampkin entered their second seasons after spending their rookie years developing within the organization. Both can play center or guard, giving the Eagles options if injuries force them to adjust the interior of their starting lineup. . .
Versatility was an important factor in the Eagles' roster construction. Philadelphia kept 10 offensive linemen, including four players listed as interior reserves: Kendall, Lampkin, Morris and third-round offensive tackle Markel Bell, who could offer additional lineup flexibility if needed.
The development does not mean all questions have been answered. Young offensive linemen can face a difficult transition when forced into meaningful regular-season action"
The problem with the Bucs interior OL depth last season was they had to resort to brining outsiders and not even use players like Klein who were already on the roster.
Correct. They had to bring in and play outside FA's because the guy they drafted sucks. Klein couldn't run block for shit. Interestingly enough, the Lions just added him to their PS - because OL depth across the league is pretty poor.
It turns out simply drafting backups may not be the only answer.
In example #651 of how the OL depth across the league is poor, the Kansas City Chiefs may have to start an undrafted rookie, who looked lost in preseason at times, at LT - with Mahomes returning from ACL & LCL surgery.
And that's with Jaylen Moore, who sucks too, at the other Tackle position.
I would say the Eagles were substantially committed to adding depth to their line but it didnt work out very well, so they even had to go back to the draft again.
This is exactly what I said
I would say the Eagles were substantially committed to adding depth to their line but it didnt work out very well, so they even had to go back to the draft again.
This is exactly what I said
Roseman has been able to use more draft resources on the OL than Licht recently, mostly because he's had more draft resources to use. Here are the total number of draft picks each team had since 2020:
PHI - 58, which Philly drafted 12 OL (0 firsts, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, 1 fourth, 3 fifths, 4 sixths, & 0 sevenths)
TB - 50, which TB drafted 7 OL (2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 third, 0 fourths, 1 fifth, 1 sixth, & 0 sevenths)
You may disagree, but when Tampa has invested 5 day one/two draft selections to Philly's (4) day one/two selections - I would say they are using plenty of draft capital on OL. Philly has used 8 day three picks on the OL, whereas Tampa only has two. I don't see throwing late picks at OL as a winning strategy. They hit the friggin' jackpot on Jordan Mailata, but that's it. They have nothing to show for the rest of those day three picks, and that includes quality depth.
So yes, Rosemen has used more picks on OL, but he's not using more high-value picks like Licht is. Roseman also has had more picks to use in general, and that is certainly worth noting.
The Seahawks under JS never really focused on OL depth but they really turned the corner last year with Jones as the swing tackle and Olu as the backup center. Haynes a third round pick has been a big disappointment not being able to beat out mediocre OL in front of him to start. But compared to what is out there Haynes is still head and shoulders better as a backup.
49ers don't really focus on OL depth at all as they like having quality starters and despite the injuries they can coach those backups up as we saw last season. Still GM Lynch went out and traded for a backup center in OL Jarrett Patterson for a 2027 7th round pick. Vederian Lowe is a generic journeyman and might be on par or better than Skule.
The Cardinals follow a similar blueprint as the 49ers with top line starters and then projects drafted in the mid to late rounds as backups. Along with free agents that is their way too.
The Saints traded for Asim Richards as a backup tackle, and sent a 2027 round 6 pick while also obtaining the Cowboys 2027 6th round pick in the process.
They spent a 2026 4th round pick on Jeremiah Wright at RG and the other two OL are free agent pick ups.
The Falcons traded for a backup tackle from Seattle for Michael Jerrell for a conditional 7th round pick and were aggressive to pick up Cameron Williams from the waiver wire for their other backup tackle spots as the Eagles cut him. They signed Levin as the backup center and they drafted Ethan Onianwa in the 7th round of the 2026 draft.
Panthers signed Forsythe as a street free agent as a backup tackle and Albert Reese is another street free agent. But where the Panthers continue to invest is the interior. They spend a 5th on Sam Hech as the backup center and they picked up Corey Bullock C/G from waiver wire pick up as he was a cut from the Ravens.
So each team is different with how they approach depth and where they put the value at certain positions.
