Why Lane Johnson Is Philadelphia Eagles' Most Overlooked 2015 Starter

In 1999, rookie head coach Andy Reid selected Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb with the second overall pick in the NFL draft. McNabb, who played 11 seasons and earned six Pro Bowl selections in Philadelphia, holds the majority of the Eagles' franchise passing records. He led the Eagles to the postseason eight times, including five trips to the NFC Championship Game and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX. Quite simply, Reid's selection of McNabb is what catapulted the Eagles into the most successful decade in franchise history. 

Just two years into current Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly's NFL career, it's impossible to know whether his first-ever draft pick, Lane Johnson, will have the same impact, but it's certainly been a promising start. 

The fourth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Johnson has everything that Kelly looks for in an NFL prospect. Johnson, who started his college career at quarterback before switching to tight end, defensive end and finally offensive tackle, wasn't even regarded as one of the top prospects until his incredible showing at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Per MockDraftable.com, Johnson ranked in the 96th percentile or higher in five of the 11 categories: broad jump, 40-yard dash, 10-yard dash, three-cone drill and vertical jump. His standing broad jump of 118 inches was unprecedented, ranking in the 100th percentile. In fact, he is one of four active NFL players whose overall SPARQ score ranked more than three standard deviations above average, per Zach Whitman of Three Sigma Athlete. 

He's an unbelievable athlete, one who played four different positions in college. He started his career as a quarterback in junior college. He transferred to Oklahoma and switched to tight end and defensive end during his sophomore season. He didn't even play his current position for the first half of his college career. 

Johnson, who made the switch to right tackle before his junior season of college, has only been playing the position for four seasons. Although offensive tackle is a position at which rookies and even sophomores generally struggle, Johnson has played at a high level since the day he was drafted. 

Check out his ratings, per Pro Football Focus, during his last two seasons. He struggled during the first half of his rookie season, which is to be expected of a player thrust into the starting lineup at a position he just started playing two years earlier. But he finished on a strong note, and in 2014 he was one of the best offensive tackles in the National Football League. 

Year	PFF Grade	PFF OTs	Sacks	Hurries
2013 (first half)	-15.4	67th	7	29
2013 (second half)	17.5	10th	4	12
2014 (last 12 weeks)	14.3	10th	1	23

The criticism of Johnson as a rookie was his weakness as a pass-blocker, and those concerns were certainly warranted during the first half of the year. But it took just an eight-game learning curve for Johnson to transform into a solid pass-blocker as well as a mauler in run blocking. To allow just a single sack in 12 games in 2014 is astounding when considering the eight he allowed in the first eight games of his rookie season. 

Take a look at how some of the other young offensive tackles in the NFL compare to Johnson during their first year or two. And then keep in mind that those players have been playing the position for the majority of their lives. 

Player	Drafted	Starts	PFF Rating	Sacks	Hurries	Penalties
Greg Robinson	2014 1 (2)	12	-24.1	5	10	10
Jake Matthews	2014 1 (6)	15	-36.8	7	35	11
Eric Fisher	2013 1 (1)	29	-39.0	14	59	15
Luke Joeckel	2013 1 (2)	21	-23.5	11	40	7
Lane Johnson	2013 1 (4)	28	10.5	11	62	15
DJ Fluker	2013 1 (11)	31	-11.6	13	69	16
Matt Kalil	2012 1 (4)	48	-23.0	18	88	23

Johnson is clearly the best of the group. Greg Robinson and Jake Matthews will likely improve in their second seasons, but each was significantly worse as a rookie than Johnson was in 2013. Eric Fisher, the top pick in 2013, is looking more and more like a bust, while the jury is still out on Luke Joeckel and D.J. Fluker. And Matt Kalil has strangely regressed since a dominant rookie season. 

When fans talk about Philadelphia's offensive line, they mention All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters, All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis or Pro Bowl center Jason Kelce. Johnson's name seems to be forgotten more than it should. To be fair, he's probably just the fourth-best offensive lineman on the Eagles, which is more of a testament to how good the Eagles are on the line. 

But he's getting better each year, while Peters and Mathis, though still dominant, are nearing the end of their careers. What's he going to do in 2015? Young offensive linemen aren't supposed to be this good this early in their careers. Johnson's strength is as a run-blocker, and the Eagles in 2015 could have a four-headed rushing attack for the ages with DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk.

In two seasons, if the Eagles have moved on from Peters and Mathis, it's going to be Johnson holding down the fort on the offensive line. Oh, and he'll be doing it at Peters' spot on the left side. 

The sky is the limit for Lane Johnson. He earned an All-Pro selection by Pro Football Focus in 2014, just his second year in the league. He's 25 years old this offseason, with many more years of elite play ahead of him. He's everything you want in a Kelly-type offensive lineman, and his ceiling is high enough that he could become a perennial All-Pro.