Eagles Mailbag: Who Will Win the Starting Job at RG?

The Philadelphia Eagles will begin OTAs this week as we’ll get our first look at the full 90-man roster on the practice field together. There are plenty of questions surrounding several position battles and these initial practices will offer a glimpse into the team’s thinking at those key spots.

Before diving into this week’s mailbag, I’d like to take a moment on Memorial Day to honor the military members that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Their courage and dedication should never be forgotten.

Now I’m excited to start a weekly Eagles mailbag series here on our new site. The first edition of the mailbag is loaded with interesting questions and topics surrounding the Eagles ahead of OTAs. Thank you to everyone that submitted a question and let’s get started!

1) If Tyler Steen doesn’t win the starting job at right guard, Kenyon Green likely beat him out for that spot. Green has the first round pedigree and upside that Mekhi Becton brought to Philadelphia. He’s in a similar situation as Becton too, given that many have criticized his play for his former team and questioned his potential lack of effort.

Yet I personally think the situation in Houston had a lot to do with Green’s disappointing level of play. He has shown promise at times and being stuck on a relatively weak offensive line with multiple position coaches is tough. Green will have a chance to truly flourish in Philadelphia and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him win the starting job at right guard.

2) I’ll give Jeremiah Trotter Jr. the edge here, simply due to his experience in Vic Fangio’s scheme. He showed flashes in Week 18 last season and is likely next in line to assume the role of Oren Burks in 2025.

Smael Mondon Jr. is certainly intriguing and could eventually leap over Trotter at linebacker. Yet as a rookie, he obviously doesn’t have the benefit of playing for one full season under Fangio and linebacker coach Bobby King.

The truth is that the offense likely won’t look drastically different than what we’ve seen during Nick Sirianni’s tenure as head coach in Philadelphia. Kevin Patullo and Sirianni have worked on the same coaching staff for the last seven seasons together. Yet I wonder if Patullo could include some wrinkles from the offensive scheme of another coach that he has a lengthy history of working with.

Prior to joining forces with Sirianni in Indianapolis, Patullo worked under Chan Gailey for a total of six seasons, across three different NFL teams. Gailey was known for his spread offense with a zone-based blocking scheme that utilized a notable amount of pre-snap motion to confuses defenses.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick spent several years starting in Gailey’s offense and praised his offensive approach.

“He’s got an offense that is not very complicated to learn,” Fitzpatrick said. “But very complicated for defenses, in the way it’s presented to them.”

While I still don’t expect the offense to drastically change under Patullo, it’ll be interesting to see if some of Gailey’s influence will shine through. Maybe we’ll see more quick passes and pre-snap motion than we’ve seen over the past four seasons in Philadelphia.

Back in April, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Jihaad Campbell progressed to running in his rehab. Rapoport also added that Campbell’s doctor expected the rookie linebacker to be ready to go for training camp this summer.

Despite that promising report, I believe that the Eagles could opt to play it slow with Campbell. Similar to how they treated Cooper DeJean in 2024, as he hardly played during the first four weeks of the regular season.

Thanks to Brandon Graham’s retirement finally processing on June 1st, Philadelphia will have an open roster spot to work with. The most obvious targets are still Justin Simmons or Julian Blackmon, as they would bring experience to Philadelphia’s safety room.

Yet the Eagles could go in a different direction and add a veteran to their interior defensive line, such as Raekwon Davis, who has experience playing under Vic Fangio. Davis was released by the Colts and could look to rebuild his value under Fangio once again.

I don’t believe that Saquon Barkley will eclipse the 2,000 rushing yard mark in 2025. Barkley was fortunately able to avoid injury last season but the Eagles will likely look to lower his workload a bit after signing him to a contract extension.

I think it’s far more likely that A.J. Brown will reach 1,500 receiving yards, simply because the Eagles could pass the ball more in 2025. Brown is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and Philadelphia would be wise to lean on him more if they’re going to lighten Barkley’s workload.

I’ve learned to never say never in recent years and the Eagles have specifically maneuvered this offseason to limit their cash spending. That’s because they understand the contract extensions that are looming for the young players on their roster. I have no doubt that Jalen Carter will sign a massive contract extension next offseason.

Nolan Smith seems like an obvious candidate as well, especially if he’s able to replicate his success from last season. We’re a bit far out to discuss extension for Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, but the Eagles would be able to make things work if they deserved it.

Reed Blankenship stands out as the first obvious choice for this question. Blankenship has proven to be a good, reliable safety and those are hard to find in the NFL. Blankenship could certainly be in line for a massive payday when he hits the open market in 2026.

Despite recovering from a major knee injury, Nakobe Dean could be playing elsewhere in 2026. After signing Zack Baun to a massive contract extension and drafting Jihaad Campbell in the first round, it’s clear that the Eagles are prepared for Dean to leave next offseason.

Another name that I’d mention is Kenyon Green. I believe there’s a legitimate chance that Green could win the starting job at right guard in 2025. He would then hit the open market next offseason and potentially have a healthier market than Mekhi Becton did.

I’ve mentioned this on the show before but I’ve always been drawn to the Chargers. Simply because that was my go-to team in Madden back in the late 2000s. The Chargers were loaded with talent in the game during the days of Philip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, Chris Chambers and Malcolm Floyd.

I also enjoyed playing with the Bengals in the early 2010s when Andy Dalton was throwing to A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham. I can’t forget about BenJarvus Green-Ellis running like prime Marshawn Lynch in Madden as well.