Jacksonville Jaguars: Comparing Nick Foles’ current situation to his Eagles championship team
Offensive Line
The offensive line could be the true deciding factor that determines Foles’ success with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Can his new offensive line keep him as clean as they did in Philly?
The Eagles boasted one of the league’s best offensive lines in 2017, with three linemen receiving either Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors, or both. Contrary to what you would typically think about when protecting a right-handed quarterback, the strength of the Eagles line that season was the right side.
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Right tackle Lane Johnson really asserted himself as one of the best linemen in football that season, earning his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors of his career. Center Jason Kelce did the same, earning his first career All-Pro honor despite not being voted to the Pro Bowl. Right guard Brandon Brooks earned his first career Pro Bowl appearance in 2017 and followed it up with another Pro Bowl season in 2018.
With perennial All-Pro and likely future Hall of Famer Jason Peters playing just 7 games in 2017, second-year lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai stepped in as the starting left tackle. Long-time center turned guard with the Eagles, Stefen Wisniewski eventually solidified himself as the starter at left guard.
The Jaguars have experience on the interior, but some young, unproven players that will potentially be starting at tackle this season. Center Brandon Linder has been with the team since 2014 and signed a five-year contract extension in 2017 that made him the highest-paid center in the league. Linder did miss eight games last season but is undoubtedly the focal point of the Jags offensive line, similar to how Kelce was (and is) in Philadelphia.
Guards A.J. Cann and Andrew Norwell have four and five years of experience, with Norwell holding the lone All-Pro honor on the Jacksonville line from his 2017 season with the Carolina Panthers.
Left tackle Cam Robinson started 15 games for Jacksonville his rookie season in 2017 but played just 3 games last year due to a torn ACL. A healthy, and hopefully improved, Robinson will be key to keeping Foles upright.
At right tackle, the Jags have rookie Jawaan Taylor, who fell to them at 35 overall in the second round, after being in the conversation by many experts for them to pick seventh overall in the first. Some think he may have fallen out of the first round due to some concerns with the health of his knees, but like Robinson, a healthy Taylor could be critical for the success of Foles and the Jacksonville offense in 2019