Eagles teasing their confidential plan for the 2024 NFL Draft?

Eagles GM Howie Roseman spoke with the media on Tuesday and was asked a slew of questions ahead of the NFL draft next week.

One of those questions was how they plan to prepare for life after Lane Johnson, which has become very popular among Eagles fans.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s mentality

In #Eagles GM Howie Roseman's office there is a big quote displayed on his wall:

“PRODUCING TALENTED PLAYERS YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT IS NOT A LUXURY…. IT'S A NECESSITY.” pic.twitter.com/fFmI7D2cl8

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) April 17, 2024

“When you look at Lane Johnson, you’re talking about still one of the best players in the league,” Roseman said. “One of the best people, one of the best players in the league. Incredibly fortunate to have him and the level that he plays at. And, really, I can’t speak for Coach, but I know just from speaking to him enough, the confidence going into a game with him being able to be our right tackle and one of the captains on this team.

And so you don’t ever replace that, you don’t replace that in three years, you don’t replace that in five years. He’s a generational player and so just like we talked about with (Jason) Kelce, with [Fletcher Cox], you don’t ever replace those guys. Those guys are irreplaceable.

“But when you talk about position importance, the O-line across the board has always been a huge importance to us. And it hasn’t only been about the five guys. It’s been about having depth up front. … it’s an important position to us and so we’re looking at it just in terms of numbers about not only where we are now, but also going forward.”

Could this all be a smokescreen from the Eagle’s GM? Absolutely. But the point here is that there’s some weight behind what he’s saying. If you look at his draft history, it falls directly in line with his way of thinking.

In 2019, the Eagles used their first-round pick on Andre Dillard, expecting him to be Jason Peters’s eventual replacement. In 2022, Cam Jurgens was selected in the second round, and he is now likely to be the team’s starting center post, Jason Kelce. While two completely different players, they both sat behind starters for some time.

It’s worth noting that the Eagles could swing at one of these tackles in the first round and sit them behind Lane for a year. Or, depending on the situation, they could be moved around the offensive line depending on the player’s versatility. Just look at Landon Dickerson, for example.