The Eagles’ offensive line picture for 2026 starts with the same familiar strength: the starting five is back intact from last season. That alone keeps this group near the top of the league when everyone is healthy. But the real summer drama isn’t up front with the starters - it’s behind them, where the backup battle is crowded and a little messy.
That matters because health is the big variable here. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens come with concerns, and Lane Johnson is now 36. So even with the first unit returning, the Eagles need dependable depth, and they may not carry as many linemen as they did on last season’s initial 53-man roster, when they kept 11.
Fred Johnson looks like the safest bet among the reserves. The Eagles brought him back on another one-year deal after needing a trade to get him last season, and that says plenty about how they view him.
He’s not Jordan Mailata or Lane Johnson, but he has established himself as a useful swing tackle. Since 2023, he has appeared in 51 games with 14 starts for Philadelphia, and while a full-time starting job elsewhere may be slipping away, he still has real value in this role.
The rookie who could change the long-term conversation is Markel Bell. Philadelphia passed on an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of April’s draft, then grabbed Bell at No. 68 overall.
At 6-foot-9 and 346 pounds, he’s a huge developmental piece who played left guard at Miami. The Eagles are already working him on both sides, and there’s at least a possibility he becomes Lane Johnson’s eventual replacement.
For now, though, the path is about growth, and he should be on the roster as a backup in 2026.
Interior depth is where things get thinner. Brett Toth, who was the top backup inside last season, left for the 49ers on a one-year deal, and that opens the door for Drew Kendall.
The second-year lineman was a fifth-round pick from Boston College and barely saw the field as a rookie, playing in seven games and logging 89 offensive snaps. Even so, the Eagles seem to like him, and he may be the top interior reserve this year.
Myles Hinton is another second-year player with a shot to stick. Drafted in the sixth round last year, he has the frame of an offensive tackle, but he was getting guard reps this spring.
That kind of versatility can help a player’s chances, not hurt them, and if Hinton can handle more than one spot, he could earn a place on the 53-man roster. He also had a solid training camp as a rookie.
Cameron Williams is in a similar fight. He was also a sixth-round pick last year, spent time on IR, then came back for the regular-season finale and got a little game action. He’s still young and raw, but he’s not a lock, which means he’ll be battling for his job all summer.
The Eagles also added Micah Morris in April, taking the Georgia lineman in the sixth round. He’s 6-foot-5, 334 pounds, and brings size, strength and athleticism. He only had one season as a full-time starter in college, so he’s raw, but the upside is obvious enough that the Eagles are worth developing him.
Then there’s Michael Jordan, who brings the most NFL mileage of the group. The former Bengals fourth-round pick has played in 78 games with 49 starts, including nine starts for the Buccaneers last season.
Philadelphia brought him in for a tryout this spring and signed him afterward, a move that made sense given how light the team looked on interior depth. Among 79 qualified guards last season, Jordan was ranked 69th by PFF.
There are more names in the mix too: John Ojukwu, Willie Lampkin, Jake Majors, Hollin Pierce and Jaeden Roberts. Ojukwu has 16 NFL games under his belt in Tennessee.
Lampkin, Majors and Pierce spent all of last season with the Eagles. Roberts is a UDFA out of Alabama.
For now, the clearest projections are Fred Johnson, Markel Bell and probably Drew Kendall. That would leave eight roster spots spoken for and a handful of players fighting for just two or three openings. That’s the kind of backup line competition that should make this summer worth watching.
In Other News...
Eagles Camp Projection Just Raised A Troubling Secondary Question
A fresh 53-man projection for camp has already started to clarify a few of the Eagles bubble decisions, and one of the more notable calls is in the secondary. The roster guess points to several young or fringe players hanging around the edge of the team, while also suggesting the Eagles may lean toward familiarity and versatility as they sort out the back end of the defense.
The bigger issue, though, is safety, where the competition looks unsettled enough to shape a lot of the final roster picture. Andrew Mukuba, Marcus Epps, J.T. Gray, Michael Carter II and Cole Wisniewski are all part of that mix, and the uncertainty there could ripple into other spots as camp unfolds. For a team trying to balance depth, special teams value and scheme fit, that kind of traffic jam is exactly the sort of problem that can linger well into August. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Sirianni Is Being Pushed To Rethink Jalen Hurts Completely
The conversation around Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni has drifted back to an old familiar concern in Philadelphia: whether the offense has been too careful for its own good. Sports Radio 94 WIP host Tom Kelly took aim at the way the Eagles handled things last season, arguing that the conservative approach from the sideline and the quarterback alike left too much on the table when the offense could have pressed advantages more often.
Now the Eagles are trying to find a better middle ground, with a new voice helping shape the attack and a different set of targets for Hurts to work with. There is still a cautionary example hanging over the discussion from Hurts past, but the bigger question is whether Philadelphia can keep him aggressive without letting the offense drift into the kind of risk that can swing games the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Receiver Battle Suddenly Feels Bigger After A.J. Brown Exit
The Eagles receiver room looks a lot different heading into 2026 training camp, and not just because DeVonta Smith is now set to step into the WR1 role. With A.J. Brown gone, the competition behind Smith has taken on a different feel, as the team sorts through a group that includes Jalin Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and Darius Cooper. Each brings a different resume, from established production to developmental upside, and all of them are trying to carve out meaningful roles in an offense that suddenly has more snaps and targets to distribute.
Jalin Lemons arrival has made the No. 2 receiver conversation especially interesting, while Wicks, Brown and Moore give the Eagles a mix of experience, contract considerations and camp intrigue. Cooper, meanwhile, is trying to build on what he showed last season after making the roster as an undrafted free agent and playing through injury. For a team that has spent plenty of time leaning on its top two wideouts, this summer now feels like a real sorting exercise, with the depth chart behind Smith far less settled than it looked a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]