Young Eagles' Hopeful Must Finish The Vision

Rewind 12 months, and you would have heard similar sentiments as Steen’s locker was moved to sit between Jurgens and All-Pro right Lane Johnson, with the idea of the Alabama product via Vanderbilt being the heir apparent to Jurgens, who moved over a few steps to play his natural position of center to replace future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce.

Steen, 25, started training camp getting every first-team rep at RG until a sprained ankle forced him out of practice for about 10 days. Darian Kinnard finished the practice in which Steen was injured. However, by the next full session, the massive Mekhi Becton was moved inside, and the rest is history.

Becton parlayed his one season with Jeff Stoutland into a Super Bowl ring and a nice two-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency. So, the spot is again open with Steen starting as the default setting again.

The thought was that this year’s Stoutland Becton-like reclamation project would be Kenyon Green, the 15th overall pick in the 2022 draft, who was acquired from Houston in the trade that sent playing safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to South Texas.

Turns out, if the spring is any indication, the reunion between the Eagles and veteran Matt Pryor, who entered the NFL as Philadelphia’s sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft, is the bigger threat to derail the vision board. Green, meanwhile, spent his spring as the backup to three-time Pro Bowl LG Landon Dickerson in an attempt to start to resuscitate his career.

Pryor might be the safest bet among the options after a solid season at RG with Chicago.

That said, the good news for Steen is that it’s evident that Stoutland still believes in the upside of the star college tackle. And when the best offensive line coach in the game is trying to set up a situation that’s as conducive as possible to draw the potential out of you, all that's left to do is finish the vision.