When Isaac Seumalo left the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency this offseason, it left a gaping hole at right guard on the offensive line, causing a battle between Cam Jurgens and Tyler Steen to fill the starting role.
Cam Jurgens vs. Tyler Steen: Who Will Replace Isaac Seumalo?
Seumalo has left big shoes to fill for whoever steps up into the starting job. Appearing on NFL Network on Wednesday, Jason Kelce was quick to praise and recognize Seumalo for his time at the Eagles. “I think he is one of the best guards in the NFL,” Kelce said. “I think he is one of the most consistent players I have ever been around.” That is high praise from the Eagles center.
Kelce went on to say, “We’re not going to replace Isaac. There is going to be someone new in there, and they are going to have their attributes that they are going to excel with, and I’m looking forward to seeing who does a really good job with that.”
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Who will replace Seumalo is still not confirmed. What we do know is that it looks like a straight battle between Jurgens and Steen for the starting job. Whoever becomes the Week 1 starter will step into one of the best offensive lines in football.
After redshirting his rookie season, Jurgens is the presumptive starter heading into his sophomore year, but Steen has the ability to make a claim for the job.
Cam Jurgens Has the Early Leg Up
Right now, Jurgens looks like the favorite to secure the starting role. With a year already under his belt, it is logical to expect that the player with the most experience is the default choice.
But there are question marks, and there could be more of a battle between Jurgens and Steen than we expect. Jurgens is naturally a center, and some have said that he lacks the size to play guard.
Jurgens can definitely play guard, but it isn’t his natural or best position. In fact, Jurgens has never played guard during his playing career.
Speaking back in March at the NFL owners meetings, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said, “We’ll see where we go with [Jurgens] but excited he is on our team and excited that he adds major depth to our team.”
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Sirianni continued, “We have a lot of confidence in Cam, and we’re excited that he can play multiple positions. So to say the leader in the clubhouse at this particular time, we still have a lot of things to go through before we have to make any decisions.”
2023 should be the year for Jurgens to kick on, and he would have been the starting center had Kelce decided to retire as the Ealges expected him to when they drafted Jurgens. He was part of the succession timeline.
Jurgens was drafted with pick 51 in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Nebraska and was lined up to be Kelce’s replacement. But Kelce has decided to return for his 13th season, and we don’t know whether the Eagles want to give Jurgens another redshirt season.
Sirianni also told reporters, “Cam had a really good year of sitting behind one of the best players in franchise history. … Cam will continue to learn from him, and sure, we will see what is the best situation for Cam and for the team.”
Jurgens is the likely candidate to take over from Seumalo right now. But the Eagles have drafted another versatile offensive lineman who should create a close contest for that starting position.
Tyler Steen Can Provide Solid Competition
If it isn’t Jurgens taking over at right guard, it is almost certainly will be Steen. Drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Steen is naturally a tackle, where he played at Vanderbilt and Alabama.
Only ever playing left tackle in college, it was widely predicted in the pre-draft process that Steen would move into guard. He was even announced as a guard when his selection was broadcast. But we haven’t seen Steen play on the interior in a competitive game. The only time we have seen him take snaps as a guard is at the 2023 Senior Bowl.
NFL teams had requested to see Steen take snaps at guard at the Senior Bowl due to concerns over suboptimal arm length measurements.
Speaking to the media after Steen’s selection, GM Howie Roseman said that seeing him play guard at the Senior Bowl helped their evaluation. “You could see him moving people off the ball — you could see his athleticism in space.”
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Steen’s showing in Mobile was key to him being selected 65th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. The versatility he brings opens up the ability for the Eagles to play their best five guys across the line of scrimmage.
With his tackle flexibility, he will be able to kick out and survive there should any injuries occur. If he doesn’t end up starting right away, he has the potential to back up both tackle and guard positions.
At 6’6″ and 321 pounds, Steen hits the size thresholds that the Eagles covet, and he could be the perfect backup as he learns and develops in his rookie season.
Also, If semantics is your thing, Steen has been given the jersey No. 56, the same number worn by Seumalo.
Jurgens may be the player penciled in at right guard for now. But if Steen impresses throughout the rest of the offseason and during camp, don’t be completely surprised to see Steen take up the starting right guard spot.
