Eagles' Lane Johnson Talks Saquon, Jalen Hurts, Super Bowl and More in B/R Interview

Philadelphia Eagles fans aren't the only ones who enjoy it when Saquon Barkley unleashes dazzling highlight runs.

It's fun for the offensive line as well. 

"It's so fun to block for him," offensive tackle Lane Johnson told Bleacher Report. "He's a guy who if you give him an inch he can take a mile. Him running the football and him splitting out wide as a receiver at that size, he's just a freak athlete. He can make you look a lot better as an offensive lineman than you are, for sure."

All Barkley did in his first year with the Eagles was fall just short of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards with 2,005 rushing yards, 278 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns. He took home the Offensive Player of the Year and then dialed it up a notch in the playoffs on the way to the Lombardi Trophy.

Barkley ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the NFC Divisional Round win over the Los Angeles Rams and then 118 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders.

As a result, he broke Terrell Davis' record for the most rushing yards in a single season and playoffs (2,476) with 2,504.

And the Penn State product did it all while quickly establishing himself as a leader on his new team.

"The other thing that's so cool is how down to earth he is as a guy," Johnson said. "He's galvanizing for our team, guys really look to him and what he brings."

While Barkley starred throughout the season, it was Jalen Hurts who captured the Super Bowl MVP in the win over the Kansas City Chiefs by throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and running for a game-high 72 yards.

It was a career-defining moment for someone who has faced scrutiny at times, and the fact he outplayed Patrick Mahomes on the sport's biggest stage was a resounding answer for those who questioned whether Hurts could join the elite category of quarterbacks in the league.

That means there will probably be even more of a spotlight in 2025 as he attempts to cement himself among the NFL's best with an impressive encore, and Johnson doesn't expect anything to change.

"It's going to be pretty much the same because he's always been consistent with his demeanor and approach to the game," he said of Hurts. "With the addition of Saquon last year, it took some pressure off Jalen. He knows we have a lot of guys who can make dynamic things happen with the ball in their hands. 

"Jalen is one of the hardest working people I know with his routine day in and day out. It's cool to see all his hard work starting to pay off. As far as this season, he's dialed in. It's going to be more of the same."

Hurts, Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith generated many of the headlines for the Eagles as they won the Super Bowl, but their spectacular plays were only possible because of the offensive line leading the way up front.

And Johnson was once again one of the leaders of that group as he made his sixth career Pro Bowl and was named to the All-Pro Second Team. Pro Football Focus gave him a player grade of 85.4, which was seventh among 140 offensive tackles for the 2024 season.

His peers also saw his excellence and named him as the No. 23 player in the NFL Top 100, which was his highest mark yet.

"It's awesome," Johnson said of being recognized by his fellow players. "You spend so much time working and training. It's great when people can see all the work you put into it. I remember being in the league as a younger guy, and it was always something I strived to achieve. So it was very cool to receive that honor."

It was more of the same for someone who has been so dominant throughout his career since Philadelphia selected him with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft. His resume now includes two Super Bowl titles, six Pro Bowls and two First-Team All-Pro nods, and it is safe to say he is one of the most important players in Eagles franchise history.

But at this stage of his illustrious career, the 35-year-old is keeping his goals simple at the start of a new season.

"Making the playoffs is number one," Johnson said. "We've got to make the playoffs. And for me, it's just staying healthy. This late in my career, I'm looking for a healthy season. But getting out of the NFC East and making the playoffs, that's number one. And we'll go from there because anything can happen in the playoffs."

He might be even more ready to accomplish those goals than usual after partnering with USAA and Team Whistle to go through the military's SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) training as part of a day-in-the-life activity with the NFL's official salute to service partner.

As part of the test, Johnson learned about navigation, fire making, survival skills and more as part of Team Whistle's "I Could Do That" series.

"This is something I wish I would have done sooner, especially being in the woods and learning how to navigate and starting a fire," he said. "That was very cool and something I've never done. The ability to endure and the teamwork aspect of veterans and all these different military branches is great. I envy their human spirit and willingness to lay it on the line for their fellow countrymen. Their ability to overcome no matter what obstacles are in their way is a great inner-fire to have as a part of you as a person."

So what was more challenging, the SERE training or blocking the NFL's best defensive linemen? 

"After a couple blocks, I can go on the bench," he said. "This was an all-day thing. This was definitely a lot tougher, and I had the watered-down shortened version of it. It's a difficult course to see how you function under pressure and how well you follow directions. So if you're able to do that, you can do pretty well. But the heat and humidity and those conditions play their way into it too."

With the training under his belt, Johnson can now turn toward the upcoming season and what will be his second time as a reigning Super Bowl champion.

The Eagles also won the Lombardi Trophy during the 2017 campaign earlier in his career, but the following season got off to a rocky start with a 4-6 record through the first 10 games. Philadelphia bounced back to reach the playoffs and the NFC Divisional Round, but it ultimately fell short of lifting the Lombardi Trophy for a second straight year.

Given that experience, Johnson knows the 2025 Eagles are always going to get the opponent's best shot with the proverbial Super Bowl target on their back.

"It was a valuable lesson I learned in 2018 when we got off to a slow start and we had to have a late resurgence to even make the playoffs," he said. "What you quickly found out was that it's a new year fast."

They are in that situation again after winning 12 of their final 13 regular-season games in 2024 and then defeating the Green Bay Packers, Rams, Commanders and Chiefs in the playoffs. The game against the Rams was the only one that ended with a single-digit deficit, and they destroyed the Commanders 55-23 in the NFC title game before a 40-22 win over the Chiefs.

The Super Bowl wasn't even as close as the final score indicated since Kansas City scored two touchdowns in garbage time after the outcome was decided.

"Coach Sirianni talks about this a lot," Johnson said of the team's mindset after that run. "The thing he preaches is to remember how we got there last year. Our habits, our routines, how we break down film, ball security. All the things we do on a daily basis is why we were successful. So now it's about keeping those habits the same. That's how you deal with success or failure. Don't let it define you and always know you have a game coming up that's going to test you."

If the Eagles keep those habits the same, they may be standing atop the NFL mountain once again this season.