The Eagles have made their choice at left guard, and it comes with a ripple effect that reaches beyond one spot.
Per NFL Network, Cam Jurgens is sliding from center to left guard to fill in for the injured Landon Dickerson, while Drew Kendall will take over at center. That means Philadelphia didn’t just patch one hole - it rearranged two positions on the offensive line.
That’s a bold call, especially because the Eagles had been careful about the left guard picture all week. During the open portion of practice available to the media, Fred Johnson was available as a left guard, which made it look like Philadelphia was at least keeping options open.
Instead, the Eagles are leaning on Kendall’s cross-training and Jurgens’ versatility. Kendall has been getting work at guard for more than a year, back when Jurgens had already settled in as the starting center and had locked up a lucrative contract extension. The idea was simple: teach Kendall multiple spots, let him grow into a possible starting role at guard, and keep Jurgens in place as the long-term center.
That plan seemed to pay off this summer. Kendall spent the offseason competing for the No. 3 guard job and won it early in camp, becoming the next man up when Dickerson or Tyler Steen needed a breather.
He earned that role for a reason. In the preseason, Kendall did not allow a pressure in 13 pass-blocking snaps and was beaten only once, without giving up pressure, while playing guard.
Which is why the move back to center raises eyebrows. If Kendall was going to end up there anyway, why have him spend all that time at guard?
The Eagles are clearly betting on his experience at center. Kendall has played the position in a regular season game before, logging 62 snaps in Week 18 last season and allowing one pressure, a 2.2% pressure rate allowed per dropback. But there’s still a gap here: he has never taken snaps with Jalen Hurts in a regular season game, while Hurts has spent the last three seasons working with Jurgens.
Jurgens’ side of the move is just as interesting. He has played guard in the NFL before, starting the entire 2023 season at right guard while Jason Kelce remained at center.
That stint got him on the field and gave the Eagles stability at a spot they needed to fill. He held up well there, too, not allowing a sack in 366 pass-blocking snaps over 11 games, though his pressure rate allowed per dropback was 4.9%.
Still, this is a different ask. Jurgens was outstanding at center last season, giving up no sacks and only eight pressures in 14 games, good for a 1.8% pressure rate allowed per dropback. That level of play is why moving him away from center now feels unnecessary, especially after an uneven Week 1.
The Week 2 matchup adds another layer. Jurgens’ experience at guard could help against Jeffery Simmons in the A-gap and B-gap, which matters a lot for any offensive line. There’s also the possibility that Jurgens and Jordan Mailata communicated better during the week on protection and reads.
Even so, the bigger question lingers: if Kendall was being groomed as the No. 2 center and No. 3 guard, why shuffle him back to center now and move Jurgens off the position where he’s been elite?
However it plays out, the Eagles have chosen to be aggressive with the interior line. The results will tell the story in Week 2. For now, it’s Chris Kuper’s show and the way he wants to handle the offensive line.
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