BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- It is not often that a sixth-round draft pick is taking snaps with the first unit just two weeks into training camp, but Jason Kelces stock has risen that quickly.
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound center is splitting time with veteran Jamaal Jackson, and the rookie is growing more comfortable every day. The Eagles coaches like what they see.
Kelce is outstanding mentally for a young man, said offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. It is quite a challenge for first year guys with the lockout situation this year. Its all about business 247.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Its been a hectic couple of weeks, Kelce said following practice at Lehigh. The first few days of camp I dont know if anyone felt comfortable. It was a crazy deal with the lockout and everything. But Im definitely more comfortable now.
Im surprised the promotion happened so quickly, but Im excited. Im just trying to improve every day. Technique-wise, Im getting better. Mentally, I feel like Im there.
The Eagles dont play their first preseason game until Thursday against Baltimore, so it is too early to start chiseling lineups into stone, but it is clear Kelce is pushing hard for a starting job. Whether the Eagles would actually trust the rookie to start the regular season at center is debatable, but he is giving them something to think about.
Coaches like veteran experience, and Jackson was a solid starter for four seasons before being injuredso that weighs in his favor. Andy Reid might decide it is too risky to start two rookies in the middle of the lineNo. 1 pick Danny Watkins is a lock to start at one guard spotso Reid could play it safe and stick with Jackson, at least initially.
News
But the coaches really like Kelce and at the very least he is getting plenty of reps so he will be ready to step in if Jackson goes down again. There is no doubt the Eagles have big plans for the 23 year old from the University of Cincinnati.
Kelce is a good fit for the O-line that is being assembled by Howard Mudd, the new line coach. Once upon a time, Mudd was an undersized guard (6-1, 250) who made three Pro Bowls playing in San Francisco. As a coach, Mudd likes quick and mobile linemen, guys who can move and do the things he did as a player. Those linemen tend to be smaller and more athletic. Kelce fits that description.
Mudd coached the lines in Indianapolis for a dozen years. They were among the smallest lines in the league, but they did a superb job protecting Peyton Manning and excelled at executing the draws, traps and screens that rounded out the Colts offense.
Mudd is transitioning the Eagles line into a similar unit, and the drafting of two smaller linemenKelce and guard John Vandervelde of Iowawas a foreshadowing of whats to come. The Eagles will become more of a zone blocking team similar to the Colts and the Denver Broncos.
The Cincinnati offense used a lot of zone principles and that has helped Kelce get off to a fast start with the Eagles. He has quick feet and good technique and he gets to what the coaches call the second level, which means he gets downfield to block the linebackers, something big, plodding centers cant do.
Kelce fell to the sixth round of the draft (he was the 191st player selected) because many scouts felt he was too small to play in the NFL. Various scouting reports referred to him as an overachiever and self-made player. In other words, a guy with desire but not a lot of natural ability.
Kelce improved his stock at the Scouting Combine when he tested better than any other center or guard. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.89 seconds) and turned in the longest standing broad jump (nine feet, two inches). He had the best time in the 20-yard shuttle (4.14 seconds) and the three cone drills (7.22 seconds).
Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider he was sick the whole time. He was throwing up and had stomach pain. He thought it was a virus. As it turned out, his appendix was about to burst.
I was so sick, I skipped the weight lifting, Kelce said. Somehow I found the energy to run. A couple days later, I went to the doctor and they found I had appendicitis. So I went in for surgery and that really set me back.
My weight fell from 280 to 260 and I lost a lot of strength. I worried about how that would effect my draft status since some scouts thought I was too small at 280. I was hoping if enough teams just watched my college tape they would see I could play.
Kelce actually benefitted by the four month lockout because it gave him time to recover from the surgery, resume his workouts and rebuild his strength so he was ready to go when the Eagles finally opened training camp last month.
Kelce looks closer to 6-2 than the 6-3 listed on the roster, but he has more than held his own on the practice field. Weve seen other undersized linemen succeed. Jeff Saturday, who played center for Mudd in Indianapolis for 12 years, is the same size as Kelce. He was undrafted coming out of college. No doubt Mudd sees a lot of Saturday in Kelce.
People say I look like him, said Kelce who has a Saturday-like beard, but I cant compare myself to him. Hes been successful for a long time. Im still trying to make a team. But, yeah, Id love to have that kind of career. That would be awesome.
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net