'Everybody's Big:' Eagles' Double Down On Size And Physicality With OL

At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, Eagles’ All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson leads a heavyweight offensive line, bolstered by rookie prospects like 6-8, 342-pound undrafted tackle Hollin Pierce. With the team's focus on building a dominant running game, bettors might anticipate a strong rushing performance and consider betting on the Eagles to exceed their rushing yardage totals in upcoming games.

PHILADELPHIA - At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, Eagles’ All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson is used to being the biggest guy in any room he enters, at least outside of the NovaCare Complex. Inside of it, Johnson is not quite the runt of the litter, but he’s also just part of a very big crowd these days.

His bookend on the left side – second-team All-Pro left tackle Jordan Mailata – is the biggest among the offensive tackles, listed at 6-8, 365, although the Aussie star is closer to 380 these days. The Eagles lost the massive Mekhi Becton to the LA Chargers in free agency, but that doesn’t mean quarterback Jalen Hurts can rest easy when it comes to throwing lanes.

Philadelphia brought back the 6-7, 332-pound Matt Pryor and his guard/tackle versatility in the offseason, and also signed potential veteran swing tackle Kendall Lamm, who is “only” 6-5, 308. Then comes the rookies: fifth-round pick Myles Hinton at 6-7, 323, sixth-rounder Cameron Williams at 6-6, 317, and the biggest of them all, 6-8, 342-pound undrafted Rutgers rookie Hollin Pierce.

“A lot of big guys around,” Johnson smiled. “I look at the O-Line room, we have a lot of big dudes around similar to last year. It’s a good problem to have.”

The Super Bowl LIX-winning season seems to have left its imprint on offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and GM Howie Roseman. Riding a big, physical, and talented offensive line blocking for superstar running back Saquon Barkley resulted in the sixth-best rushing season in NFL history. Expect more of the same in 2025, but you have to work on replenishing that kind of size, which doesn’t grow on trees.

The Eagles’ personnel department is very high on the upside of Hinton, whose father Chris Hinton, was once one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. Williams needs refinement after starting just one year at Texas. That said, many outside scouts believed he had some first-round potential had he stayed in school and smoothed out some of the rougher edges. Pierce, meanwhile, is a high-level prospect who was considered perhaps the crown jewel of the Eagles’ UDFA class.

“They’re big. Everybody’s big,” Johnson said of the Eagles’ rookie tackles. “In the meeting rooms and coaches are asking questions about ‘What is this? What is that’ They’re very smart, they’re in tune,” Johnson told Eagles On SI. “They’ve been a lot of fun so far.”

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