2024 NFL Draft positions of need: Interior offensive line

Replacing a living legend like Jason Kelce can’t be that hard…right?

Every team has different needs during NFL Draft weekend and, as you may have surmised from being a football fan for longer than 30 seconds, it informs each team’s board. The Philadelphia Eagles are no different and I have taken the liberty of selecting five position groups that could use some reinforcements from the college ranks heading into the 2024 season.

The last group up is: interior offensive line.

“The Eagles could go a number of different ways here…depending on what future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce decides on playing one more season or not,” is how this post started before Monday. Now that Kelce has officially announced his retirement it makes this position a bigger need in the offseason.

Presumably Cam Jurgens, who excelled at center for Nebraska in college, would slide into that role for the Eagles and Landon Dickerson would occupy one of the guard slots. Tyler Steen, a 2023 third round pick out of Alabama, played mostly tackle in college but was moved to guard in the pros and even started one game at RG for the Eagles last season. Arizona Cardinals 2022 sixth round pick Lecitus Smith was signed to the Philadelphia practice squad in November last year and signed a reserve/future contract in January. He was an All-ACC guard at Virginia Tech and could work his way onto the final roster.

Even if Kelce had run it back for one more crack at a Super Bowl, the Eagles would’ve been wise to bring in someone to bolster their depth at G/C for the future. With Kelce off to retirement, here are a trio of IOL options (not just early rounds) that the Eagles should consider when they are eventually on the clock. (All measurements are from player’s college bio or NFL Combine if applicable)

Cooper Beebe (guard), 5th Year Senior, Kansas State

Measurements: 6-foot-3 and 322 pounds (NFL Combine)
Career stats: 51 games (48 starts); allowed five sacks in 1,488 pass blocking snaps per PFF

Bio: A native of Kansas City, but on the Kansas side, Beebe was ranked as a 3-star defensive lineman for most of his high school career, but he excelled on both sides of the ball. He comes from a family of athletes as his dad (Pittsburg State), older brother (tight end at Minnesota), and younger brother (o-lineman at K-State) have all played/are still playing college football. Beebe redshirt freshman season in 2020 saw him start eight games (seven at RT and one at LG) and allowing four sacks. If you read his stats above and are good at math, you may have figured out that Beebe only allowed one sack in his final three years of college (40 starts). In 2021 he was honorable mention Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and he was First Team Academic All-Big 12 every year between 2020 and 2023.

His final three seasons were chock full of accolades that I won’t bore you with all of them here. Just know that he was All-Big 12 First Team (2021, 2022, 2023), Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year (2022, 2023), 2022 Second Team All-American (AP, CBS, PFF, USA Today), 2022 First Team All-American (Athletic, ESPN, FOX, Sporting News), and a 2023 Consensus First Team All-American. He was an Outland Trophy finalist and a Campbell Trophy (aka Academic Heisman) finalist in 2023 and he was a Lombardi Award semifinalist as a fifth year senior too. He was also a two-time team captain. Per NFL.com, he had the highest Next Gen Stats Total Score of any guard at the Combine this year.

Scouting report: Beebe is a versatile offensive lineman. Last season he played 20 snaps at left tackle, 106 snaps at right tackle, and 832 at left guard, but he started 13 games at left tackle in 2021 and even filled in at right guard too. Basically, if you’re drafting Beebe you can use him anywhere but center, but I’d wager most teams have him as a guard on their boards. He is built like a keg of beer and, unfortunately, has about the same reach, but the negatives to his game pretty much end there. He is stout in pass protection and a steamroller in the run game. Beebe sees the game at an advanced level and is extremely smart about passing off rushers and also getting to the second level to clear out linebackers on running plays. He may not be the most exciting prospect as he’s more of a “high-floor/low-ceiling” player, but it’s important to note that his floor is already “rotational NFL player.”

He’s probably a mid-second round to early-third round guy, but seems to be on the rise.

Highlights:

Zak Zinter (guard), Senior, Michigan

Measurements: 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds
Career stats: 45 games (42 starts, all at RG except one)

Bio: Born and raised in Florida, he moved to Massachusetts before high school and was a 247Sports Composite 4-star offensive lineman coming out of Buckingham Browne and Nichols School. He was a four-time letterwinner at Michigan and was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2021 and then consensus First Team All-Big Ten in 2022 and 2023. He was voted a team captain as a senior and also earned unanimous First Team All-American honors. Zinter was an integral part of a dominant Michigan offensive line which won the Joe Moore Award (best offensive line unit in the nation) in 2021 and 2022, the first back-to-back winners in award history.

Scouting report: The first thing to discuss with Zinter is his injury, which caused him to miss Michigan’s playoff run to the national title. Zinter broke his tibia and fibula in the third quarter The Game against OSU and did not participate in any on-field work during the NFL Combine. Zinter said that he’ll “be ready to roll in a month” but obviously every team will want to do their due diligence on him.

When you think of a stereotypical Big Ten Offensive Lineman, Zinter is probably who you are picturing. He is big, strong, mean, and wants nothing more than to leave tire tracks on your jersey as his team runs down your throat. He’s a good pass protector, but NFL-level athletes will give him issues at the beginning of his career. Like Beebe, Zinter is a cerebral player and should be able to contribute to an NFL offensive line rotation as a rookie.

Due to injury concerns, Zinter is probably now a third-fourth round pick, but there is a lot of potential value to be had if the medical staff for Philly clears him.

Highlights:

Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (center), Redshirt Junior, Georgia

Measurements: 6-foot-4 and 298 pounds (NFL Combine)
Career stats: 48 games (44 starts)

Bio: The top center prospect in the class of 2020, Van Pran-Granger was a Composite 4-star prospect out of New Orleans’ Warren Easton High School. During his first season on campus Van Pran-Granger appeared in four games (to preserve his redshirt) and then started 44 straight games over his final three seasons with the Bulldogs. He was Second Team All-SEC in 2022 and then unanimous First Team All-SEC last year. In 2023 he also earned: First Team All-American (ESPN, SI), Second Team All-American (AFCA, AP, CBS, FOX Sports, FWAA, The Sporting News, The Athletic, Walter Camp), won the SEC Jacobs Blocking (best blocker in the conference) Trophy, and was a finalist for the Rimington (best center in country) Trophy.

Scouting report: Van Pran-Granger is, in my humble opinion, an ideal project for the Eagles and Jeff Stoutland to invest in. He is tough, mean, and played well in a conference full of freak defensive linemen. He has a frame that can add a little more weight to it without sacrificing any mobility, but he wasn’t the quickest in college where he was listed 30+ pounds heavier so there is definitely a fine line to walk there. Van Pran-Granger is a potent run blocker and is able to get up to the second level and eliminate linebackers on runs between the tackles. He doesn’t have the Kelce-like ability to pull and lead the way on outside running plays but, to be fair, few do, especially as a rookie. The Birds have had a lot of recent success with drafting players from Georgia so they’ll already have a good relationship with the Bulldogs staff to get any inside info they need before selecting him. I’d guess he’s a third or fourth round pick right now.

Highlights: