Over the next couple of weeks (basically whenever there isn't other news to cover), we'll take a look at every player on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster, and how they fit with the team heading into training camp. Today we'll look at the offensive tackles.
Previous training camp previews
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end / Fullback
The offensive tackles should be a very interesting group to watch this summer. First, the depth chart:
Offense 1 2 3 4
LT Jordan Mailata Kendall Lamm Myles Hinton Laekin Vakalahi
RT Lane Johnson Darian Kinnard Cameron Williams Hollin Pierce
Lane Johnson
The Eagles probably had the best offensive line in the NFL when they won it all in 2017, and they did again in 2024. The only lineman to start for both teams was Lane Johnson. He's been, in my opinion, the best offensive lineman in the NFL over roughly the last 8 years, but over that time has been criminally underrated, even with six Pro Bowls and five All-Pro nods. I mean, he was being left off of those dumb NFL Top 100 lists completely when he was pretty easily a top 20 type of player.
Johnson doesn't have as many highlight reel blocks as a guy like, ohhh, sayyy, Penei Sewell, but nobody else in the league can do what Johnson does, which is single-block the league's elite pass rushers on an island, week after week, year after year, and never give up sacks. He's one of the greatest Eagles of all-time and one of the best offensive linemen in league history.
He's also still at the top of his game, coming off an outstanding 2024 season.
Jordan Mailata
In 2023, on an offensive line with two future Hall of Famers, I thought Mailata was quietly stellar, both in the run game and in pass protection. He was deserving of Pro Bowl recognition, but didn't get in. He was snubbed for Pro Bowl recognition again in 2024, but he earn a Second-Team All-Pro nod.
As we have seen, Mailata's career path has followed a steady upward trajectory. On a national level he went from "that huge Australian guy who never played football at a level lower than the NFL" to finally being recognized as a legitimately great player. It took a while for non-locals to catch up, but they finally got there.
Mailata is a star player, and he's playing on a very team-friendly contract that runs through 2028.
Kendall Lamm
Lamm, 32, was undrafted out of Appalachian State, and is a career backup who has stuck in the NFL for 10 years, playing for the Texans, Browns, Titans, and most recently, the Dolphins. He has appeared in 119 games, with 44 starts, and has experience playing both tackle spots. His career snap counts, 6th OL snaps omitted:
Year LT LG C RG RT
2015 1 - - - 116
2016 40 - - - 26
2017 129 - - - -
2018 1 - - - 857
2019 3 1 - - 78
2020 99 - - - -
2021 78 - - - -
2022 32 - - - -
2023 520 - - - 93
2024 70 - - -- 441
TOTAL 973 1 0 0 1611
For what it's worth, PFF had Lamm down for 1 penalty and 0 sacks allowed in 2024, before a back injury ended his season. He had considered retiring after 2024, per this SI article from Alain Poupart:
"It's been among the more trying things that I've had to deal with," Lamm said. "I have a disc in my left side and my back that's bulging into one of my nerves that's causing my entire left side to go numb. It has been one of the more trying things to try to sleep at night. It's been one of the more trying things trying to walk even that Sunday morning before the game, like I could barely feel certain things in my left side. But of course, we do, we try to do what we can for the team, and I know we wanted to make the playoffs, and playing is near and dear to me. It's a sacred thing, so I try my best to do whatever I can to help.
"But at the same time, as I've been told, this is nothing to play with, so the procedure will be done when it's done. And you know, I appreciate all the well wishes and everything. I know I said this might be my last year, and we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
The Eagles seemed to want to find an upgrade this offseason at swing tackle. Their 2024 swing tackle, Fred Johnson, left in free agency to play for the Jaguars, and the Eagles seemingly didn't put up much of a fight to retain him. Lamm will compete for a roster spot this summer, but he's in a good position to earn the swing tackle job.
Darian Kinnard
Kinnard was active for just two games in 2024. He played 3 snaps in garbage time against the Bengals, and he started the Eagles' Week 18 game against the Giants. Despite his complete lack of meaningful playing time, Kinnard was able to stick on the 53-man roster for the entire season, an indication that the Eagles see potential in him.
He's also a good luck charm, as he already has three Super Bowl rings in his first three NFL seasons (two with the Chiefs, and last season with the Eagles).
Myles Hinton
Hinton is one of two offensive tackles the Eagles selected in the sixth round of the 2025 draft. He the son of seven-time Pro Bowl OT Chris Hinton, a Colts 1983 first-round pick who played for 13 seasons and was named to seven Pro Bowls. He has experience playing LT and RT in college, which makes him a candidate to be a swing tackle for the Eagles, and maybe a starter down the line if the Eagles can develop his raw traits. He has prototypical size at 6'7, 323 pounds, with 34 1/8" arms. Highlights:
Hinton is big and gifted, but perhaps didn't quite reach his ceiling at Michigan and Stanford. The Eagles drafted him because they think that he has a chance to someday be a starter. Shortly after the draft concluded, the Eagles' social media department released video of the team's draft weekend from the war room. The video shows that before the start of Day 3 of the draft, Howie Roseman went around the room asking his scouts to rubber stamp players they felt have high ceilings. Director of player personnel Phil Bhaya handpicked Hinton. It starts at the 12-minute mark below:
"This guy has it in his body," Bhaya said. "He's got the size. Get him with Stout, get him in our program, this guy has all the tools in his body, and even better than some of the guys that were drafted yesterday. So I think, in terms of the upside pick, the guy who can start, it's Myles Hinton."
The Eagles kept 11 offensive linemen on their 53-man roster last year, and my guess is that they will go heavy on the O-line again in 2025. They'll find room for Hinton and the Eagles' other rookie draft pick, Cameron Williams, as long as they at least show something in camp. They have shown in the past that they will keep extra linemen on the roster, even if as many as three of them are inactive on gameday.
If I'm handicapping whether Hinton or Williams has a better chance of seeing the field first, I'd probably go with Hinton, who started more games in college and has LT/RT versatility, while Williams played exclusively at RT at Texas and only had 16 career starts.
Cameron Williams
As noted above, Williams is the Eagles' other sixth-round rookie. He is inexperienced by draft prospect standards, and he played exclusively at RT at Texas. He has prototype size at 6'6, 317, with 34 1/2" arms, and massive 11 3/8" hands.
He's a raw "traits" prospect who is going to need significant development in the NFL. A quick highlight reel:
Williams was expected to be drafted higher than where he landed in the sixth round. He was Mel Kiper's 125th ranked prospect, while The Athletic's Dane Brugler and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein both had him rated as a 4th round prospect.
Like Hinton above, Williams is the type of player with high upside who can pay off long-term, but will need time.
Hollin Pierce
Pierce is a monster OT, at 6'8, 341, and 36" arms. He also has experience playing RT (2022) and LT (2023 and 2024), which makes him a good long-term swing tackle prospect. He's the LT here (video via @IronCityFilm):
Pierce is likely to struggle with speed rushers, which is why he was an undrafted free agent, but he has some upside that can potentially be unlocked by Jeff Stoutland.
Laekin Vakalahi
Like Mailata, Vakalahi is a native of Australia, and he'll enter his second season with the Eagles via the International Pathway Program. Last summer, I half expected Vakalahi to be overwhelmed, but I thought he held his own, and even outplayed some of the more recognizable undrafted rookies. It'll be interesting to see if he can make a jump from Year 1 to Year 2 having been in the building for more than a year now.