From now until July 22, PhillyVoice will be previewing 2025 Eagles training camp by choosing a topic question for the staff to debate. This series will run from Monday, July 7, through Monday, July 21, as all players are expected to report by to the NovaCare Complex by July 22. The first session is July 23.
Today's preview topic question is: Which position group on offense is the team's biggest concern headed into camp? Our writers made their selections and wrote about the group they felt best fit the category.
Biggest Position Group Concern Of Offense
GEOFF MOSHER: Centers
Offensive linemen and back injuries can be problematic. You might recall Jordan Mailata's first two seasons as a pro were derailed slightly because of back issues, although those were developmental seasons for the Aussie, who wasn't really expected to play earlier in his career. But expectations are big for fourth-year center Cam Jurgens who comes off his first Pro Bowl season but also underwent back surgery to resolve an issue that initially sidelined him for the NFC Championship until an injury to his replacement, Landon Dickerson, forced him nto action. Jurgens also clearly gutted out the Super Bowl despite still feeling the effects.
The Eagles must be convinced that his back problem won't linger, as they handed him a long-term extension this offseason, but it's important to remember two things about the fourth-year pro: Jurgens had an injury history going back to college and the Eagles enter campt his season without an obvious No. 2 center.
At Nebraska, as a freshman tight end, Jurgens he played one game, sustained a season-ending foot injury and redshirted for the year. He then sustained another foot injury – to the same foot – in Week 4 of his second year with the Eagles, his first season as the starting right guard. Jurgens went on IR and missed Weeks 5-9. Later that season, he missed another start with a pectoral injury.
That year, when Jurgens didn't play those six games, the Eagles filled his void at right guard with Sua Opeta and then-rookie Tyler Steen. Last year, with Jurgens moving to center for the first time, the Eagles tried to find an adequate backup who had snapping experience. None of their options – Matt Hennessy, Nick Gates, rookie Dylan McMahon – worked out, forcing the Eagles to slide Dickerson to center when Jurgens' back flared up. Dickerson, you recall, got hurt filling in for Jurgens and had to exit the NFC Championship game, forcing a gimpy Jurgens into action.
One season later, I'm not sure the Eagles are in any better of a position with their backups. Old faithful Brett Toth took first-team center reps at OTAs with Jurgens and Dickerson still sidelined, and Toth has a history of nightmarish snaps. He's very unlikely to make the team. The Eagles drafted center Drew Kendall in the fifth round, but would they really trust him as the No. 1 option if Jurgens got hurt, especially in a playoff game? The other interior linemen are guards or guard/tackles who have no NFL snapping experience.
The question still remains: What would the Eagles do if Jurgens were to miss extended time? Historically, they haven't liked to move a starting guard to center because, theoretically, that weakens them at two positions as opposed to one. But they also need to be sure that they trust Jurgens' backup in any situation.
NICK TRICOME: Running Backs
The Eagles' offense is at its very best when it's running the football. The strength of the offensive line is crucial to that, but Saquon Barkley pushed it all over the top last year with an all-time great season.
The concern moving on from 16 games, plus playoffs, and a league-leading 345 carries, though, is that's a lot of wear and tear, on top of history suggesting that incredible seasons like the one Barkley just turned in aren't usually followed up to the same degree for running backs.
We just saw a recent example of this, too.
Christian McCaffrey was the focal point of the 49ers' offense since he arrived to San Francisco in 2022, but the heavy usage caught up to him last season. He only made it through four games before injuries shut him down, and the 49ers, in turn, fell apart.
That's the extreme worst-case scenario.
Now, Barkley said he felt good, and "like I'm entering my prime," back at OTAs, and admitted that while he was back to his regular training program, he was also trying to make sure that he was allowing himself to rest and recover enough so that he could make it through another long season.
"It wasn't hard, because everyone that I trust told me, basically, 'Sit my ass down for a little bit,'" Barkley said back in June. "Past years, when I was younger, you think 'Oh, someone's getting better than me!' I'm relaxing, and I see Derrick Henry running hills and Christian McCaffrey post something. The old me would be like 'I gotta go! I gotta go!'
"I still have that competitive nature, but they're two completely different seasons. So just listen to everyone. When it's time to go, I've been going, and when it's time to back off, I've been backing off."
How he and the Eagles strike that balance over the next several months will be one of the keys to how their title defense goes.
AJ Dillon seems like a solid pickup to have behind Barkley, even though he didn't play last year, and Will Shipley showed late last season that he can take on more carries and more responsibility, which should help in balancing out running back usage a bit.
But still, Barkley's the leading man here, and if he misses any time, the Eagles have a problem.