Eagles add Jason Kelce's possible successor in second round originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
For the second year in a row, the Eagles have drafted an interior offensive lineman in the second round.
With the 51st pick overall, the Eagles on Friday selected Nebraska center Cam Jurgens. Last year, they selected Alabama guard Landon Dickerson, who started most of his rookie year.
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Jurgens, 6-3, 303 pounds, arrived in Lincoln as a tight end before converting to center, and he wound up as a three-year starter.
Center may not be an immediate need, but Jason Kelce turns 35 in November, is going into his 12thseason with the Eagles and isnβt expected to play much longer.
Like Kelce 11 years ago, Jurgens is a terrific athlete with strong technique but a bit under-sized. Kelce parlayed those traits into a likely Hall of Fame career. And while Jurgens has a long way to go before heβs even an NFL starter, his style of play would presumably allow him to replace Kelce whenever he does retire without the offense changing.
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Jurgens, a three-time state discus champion at Beatrice (Neb.) High School, joins one of the best offensive lines in the league and will get to work with one of the best offensive line coaches in history in Jeff Stoutland.
Jurgens is the fifth offensive lineman the Eagles have taken in the first two rounds since Howie Roseman became GM in 2010. Danny Watkins, Lane Johnson and Andre Dillard were first-round picks and Dickerson a second-round pick.
Jurgens β nicknamed βBeefβ Jurgy from his own brand of beef jerky β is the first Nebraska player the Eagles have drafted since Nate Gerry in the fifth round in 2017 and the first theyβve drafted in the first two rounds since Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bob Brown with the second overall pick in 1964.
The Eagles have drafted well in the second round for about the last 15 years, taking players such as DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Mychal Kendricks, Zach Ertz, Jordan Matthews, Dallas Goedert, Miles Sanders, Jalen Hurts and Landon Dickerson.
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