Cam Jurgens makes Pro Bowl after replacing a legend at center originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
For the eighth time since 2014, the Eagles have a Pro Bowl center.
For the first time, it’s not Jason Kelce.
Cam Jurgens, Kelce’s hand-picked successor, on Wednesday was named to his first Pro Bowl after his first season as a center and second year as a starter.
Jurgens, who played right guard last year, isn’t Kelce, but the drop off from the five-time all-pro to the 25-year-old Jurgens was minimal. Even with Kelce retired, the Eagles are 13-3 with one meaningless game remaining against the Giants and they have the NFL’s No. 6 offense and No. 1 rushing offense.
In 12 years since Jeff Stoutland became Eagles offensive line coach, seven Eagles offensive linemen have made a total of 29 Pro Bowls: Kelce (7), Jason Peters (7), Johnson (6), Dickerson (3), Brandon Brooks (3), Evan Mathis (2) and Jurgens (1).
“I think he’s done exceptionally well,” Lane Johnson said recently of Jurgens. “Obviously, Kelce is a one-in-a-million-type player, but I think Kelce saw a lot of attributes in Cam as far as his movement skills, his athleticism, (and) he’s worked his tail off.
“For him, he keeps it pretty simple. I think when you do that, you’re able to focus more and you’re not trying to be a hero, you’re not trying to be Jason Kelce every snap, he’s being Cam Jurgens.
“It’s hard, you know? I came here, I had to replace Jason Peters (at left tackle) – or so I thought. A lot of it’s about being focused and becoming the best you.”
Jurgens was one of three Eagles offensive linemen to make the 2024 Pro Bowl team. Right tackle Lane Johnson made his sixth Pro Bowl and left guard Landon Dickerson his third in a row.
Inexplicably, Jordan Mailata, the best left tackle in football, was once again snubbed in Pro Bowl voting.
According to Pro Football Focus analytics, Jurgens allowed four sacks and one quarterback hit on 519 pass-block snaps.
“I think he’s done a really nice job,” Nick Sirianni said Wednesday. “It’s never easy to replace a legend, which we all know how special of a player and leader Jason Kelce was. So he’s had to step in and fill those shoes, and I think he’s done a really nice job.
“Obviously you look at everything first. You look at having 13 wins – Cam is the center of a 13-win football team. He’s got to play good for that to happen. He’s played good for us to be able to do that. You’ve got a 2,000-yard rusher, which is special. The center’s got to play good for that to happen as well.
“I think all the writing is on the wall of how good of football he’s played and all the good things he’s done based off what this team has done. And never easy to do what he had to do there, but he’s really played good football through these 16 games.”
Before Kelce, the Eagles hadn’t had a Pro Bowl center since Hall of Famer Jim Ringo, who finished his career with the Eagles and made Pro Bowls in 1964, 1965 and 1967.
Jurgens, the Eagles’ 2nd-round pick out of Nebraska in 2022, is the 14th player drafted since Howie Roseman became general manager in 2009 to make a Pro Bowl for the Eagles, joining LeSean McCoy, Brandon Graham, Kelce, Nick Foles, Fletcher Cox, Johnson, Zach Ertz, Carson Wentz, Josh Sweat, Miles Sanders, Jalen Hurts, Landon Dickerson and Jalen Carter. Two others made Pro Bowls for other teams – Kurt Coleman and Jordan Poyer, who were both 7th-round picks.
Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Simplecast | RSS | Watch on YouTube
This embedded content is not available in your region.
