It’s hard to imagine Jon Runyan no longer being a part of the Eagles organization. The stalwart tackle epitomizes Philadelphia’s blue-collar mentality with his 190 consecutive starts, which is extremely noteworthy for an offensive lineman, and his probably undeserved reputation as a dirty player. Philadelphia loves people who never give up and bring passion to the game that they love so much and Jon Runyan definitely brings those qualities. Just this past year, in an interview with ESPN, Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan said that his nightmare situation would be to get caught on a screen pass with Runyan plowing the way and Westbrook right behind him. “A screen with Jon Runyan with [Brian] Westbrook behind him,” he said. “One-on-one with Runyan with Westbrook behind him for a touchdown. Oh my goodness. I know I am going to have to go through him if it’s for a touchdown. I’m just thinking about what body part I am going to use that could be injured. Shoulder? Neck? Back? Those three things I would be highly worried about with Runyan.”
Runyan just recently signed a deal in 2006 for three years and this coming free agency, Runyan will be on the market. The Eagles are faced with huge questions about their offensive line. The offensive line, along with Runyan, has another aging tackle in Thomas, who is at the end of his deal and there is also the question of Shawn Andrews’s health, both physically and mentally. With Winston Justice not shaping to what the Eagles had hoped for, the Eagles will either have to resign their tackles or find replacements in the draft and/or free agency. Luckily, the free agent market and the draft are deep with offensive tackles. Some possible free agent replacements would be Mark Tauscher from the Green Bay Packers, Vernon Carey from the Miami Dolphins and Khalif Barnes from the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the younger tackles out in the market at 26. Tauscher is a pretty decent tackle and even though he is 31, could have a few more good years ahead. Vernon Carey is an extremely versatile tackle that can play both left and right tackle and is also relatively young with only five years in the league and could get a lot of calls because of his ability to play both positions.
The Eagles will not be able to sign both Runyan and Thomas and have enough caps to deal with the re-signing of other players and possibly going after a big name free agent. Some players that they would likely try to re-sign are Brian Dawkins, Joselio Hanson, Hank Baskett, and Correll Buckhalter and also Mcnabb wants a new contract. With this there is a great possibility that the Eagles could have two new tackles to start the season.
The next place the Eagles will have to go to find some new OTs will be the draft and the draft is extremely deep with OTs. The three top OTs in the draft are, Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe and Michael Oher and most mock drafts that I have read have these three going before the Eagles. Let’s not forget that the Eagles do have two first rounders and could deal one to possibly move up to get one of these three players. One Mock draft that I have read, from draftking, has the Eagles taking OT Jason Smith from Baylor who is 6-5, 305 and is very athletic, being that he is a converted TE and also seems to be very tough with the most consecutive starts than any other returning Baylor player. The only question mark about Smith is his ability to pass block because of the offensive set up at Baylor and we know the Eagles offensive lineman need to know how to pass block. Another good pickup would be Jason Meredith (6’5, 301lbs) from South Carolina because of his ability to play both tackle spots and guard if needed and with still a question mark over Andrews; another guard would not be a bad idea.
The Eagles are currently being very mum about what they are going to do with Runyan and this is not surprising to anyone who follows the Eagles. They usually like to part ways with players over 30 as we have seen with many other beloved Eagles like Jeremiah Trotter, but the Eagles may make an exception with Runyan because his play has seemed to keep up and he is also extremely reliable, but you never know if that next year of play may be the year that they decline. I think that the main problem will be financially and what the Eagles are willing to do. I strongly believe that the Eagles will part ways with Runyan, as much I would like him to stay. With two first rounders and the draft being as deep as it is, it would make much more sense from the Eagles perspective to go with fresh legs, but the draft is always playing Russian roulette and who is to say the picks would work out. I will say that if the Eagles do decide to bring Runyan back, they still will get at least one OT in the draft. The organization has some major decisions facing them this off-season and not just along the offensive line.
