Jason Kelce didn’t sugarcoat where the Eagles’ offense has been, and he didn’t hide his excitement about where it might be headed next.
Speaking at the American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament in Nevada, the former Philadelphia Eagles center weighed in on a unit that’s entering training camp with Sean Mannion now running the show as offensive coordinator. Kelce said the mood around the building is upbeat, even if the last couple of seasons have left plenty of room for improvement.
“Everyone in the building is excited. I think, obviously, the offense has struggled the last couple of years.
Obviously, they won the Super Bowl the year before the run game was there,” Kelce said. “But I think things have been trending downward, especially in the passing game for a while.”
Kelce also pointed to the changes in personnel and made clear he sees reasons for optimism despite losing A.J. Brown. He noted the additions of Makai Lemon and Wicks, while also emphasizing that Saquon Barkley and a strong offensive line remain in place.
“I think everybody is excited about this season, about some change coming. There is optimism.
They still have great players in the building. Obviously, you lose A.J.
Brown, a phenomenal player. You get Makai Lemon in, you get Wicks coming in.
You still have Saquon Barkley, a great offensive line.”
The bigger question, of course, is how Mannion’s offense will actually look once the season gets rolling. Kelce said Jalen Hurts should be part of the conversation as the system takes shape, and he expects the new approach to feature a different mix than what Eagles fans have been used to.
“I think Jalen's excited. Obviously, things are going to be different, they're going to be doing the green bay, mcvay, alot of under center, play action, outside zone.
It's going to be different. But I imagine they're still going to call a lot of plays that suit Jalen Hurts' game as well.”
“So it's going to be a little bit of how does this system best fit the Philadelphia Eagles and their personnel, and how does Jalen and this offense run this new system?”
For Kelce, the appeal is in the fit. He said the structure should blend the run and pass more naturally and create a harder offense to diagnose. He also pointed to Mannion’s background as a reason for confidence, while acknowledging that the real test comes once the games start and the adjustments have to happen in real time.
“I'm very excited to see it. I've been a big fan of what this looks like.
It really marries up well with the run and the pass, all the motions. It's hard to get a beat on it.
Obviously, Mannion is very experienced in it. We're going to see how he does as a play-caller, in-game adjustments.
There's a lot of optimism, and there's also a lot of things that you're looking forward to seeing how it looks for the Philadelphia Eagles this season.”
That kind of reset has been a long time coming for a team whose offensive frustrations had piled up by the end of last season. With Mannion now responsible for the overhaul, Kelce’s message was clear: there’s real anticipation around what this group can become, and training camp will start answering the questions soon enough.
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