The Eagles have done such a good job drafting on defense in recent years that they’re going to have to start paying all those guys. So the construction of the roster is likely to flip.
To supplement all those big defensive contracts, it’s probably time for the Eagles to start drafting some more offensive players early. That could start this April.
On a national conference call, NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah was asked about some offensive options for the Eagles in the first few rounds and he had plenty of intriguing names to mention.
“I like big guys early for them,” Jeremiah said. “Where they’re picking, I just mentioned (Olaivavega) Ioane, I don’t think he’ll be there, from Penn State. But he’d be a heck of a pick if he somehow got there to 23. It’s the same tackle group we’ve talked about. With Monroe Freeling, Blake Miller, Kadyn Proctor from Alabama is an interesting one. All those guys would give them some options there along the offensive line with their first pick.
“If you go to their next pick, pick 54, you want to find a tight end? We’ve talked about Max Klare, could give them a young tight end. They’ve got pick 68. You want to find an offensive lineman that you want to develop and someone that you can work with, there’s a big ol’ dude down at Texas A&M in Dametrious Crownover, who’s almost 6-foot-6, 331 pounds. Just massive. He’s got some work to do, he’s a little bit raw. He got exposed a little bit by (Rueben) Bain and that Miami group. But he is a big, powerful guy who kind of falls in that third-round range and they love big offensive linemen there.
“Could be a perfect scenario where you get Lane (Johnson) back for one more year, you don’t have to put Crownover on the field but you get a chance to eventually have an answer there at right tackle. To me, I think big guys and the offensive line is something that makes a lot of sense for Howie (Roseman) and company.”
The names Jeremiah mentioned first — Freeling, Miller and Proctor — are a few that you should familiarize yourself with for the next couple of months. Even though Lane Johnson is returning for his 14th season, it’s clearly time to think about drafting his replacement and there are plenty of intriguing offensive tackles who could be in the Eagles’ range at 23.
In his first list of the top 50 prospects in this year’s draft, here’s where Jeremiah ranked each of those linemen:
23. Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
24. Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
28. Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
Since you’ll be hearing about those three prospects a ton in the coming months, let’s dive a little deeper on the other two names Jeremiah mentioned:
Max Klare, TE, Ohio State: Klare is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound tight end who spent just one season at Ohio State after transferring from Purdue. In his one year with the Buckeyes, Klare caught 43 passes for 448 yards and 2 touchdowns. That came after a really productive year at Purdue in 2024, when he caught 51 passes for 685 yards and 4 touchdowns. Klare is a good route runner and receiver but, like many tight end prospects, needs to improve as a blocker.
Dametrious Crownover, OT, Texas A&M: Crownover (6-6, 331) is a huge prospect with great athletic traits. He is a converted tight end and that athleticism shows. The Texas A&M staff converted Crownover to the offensive line during his redshirt season in 2021. Crownover ended up being a two-year starter at right tackle for the Aggies. He has plenty of college experience but is still relatively raw because of his late switch to offensive tackle. So, like Jeremiah mentioned, the idea of sitting him for a year to develop him makes sense. Of course, the Eagles no longer have Jeff Stoutland as their offensive line coach and Stout was a master at developing talent. Crownover reportedly had a strong week at Senior Bowl and the Eagles seem to really value that part of the pre-draft process.