Eagles first-round draft choice Lane Johnson is leading a rookie class that quietly has risen to the occasion under Chip Kelly.
Chip Kelly and his first draft class have plenty in common.
As wildly successful as Kelly was during his three-year tenure as head coach at the University of Oregon, his maiden voyage through the tumultuous waters of the NFL has certainly been a learning experience for the first-year coach.
Now nine games into the season, after being thrown to the fire, several Eagles rookies who have taken on significant roles and are slowly growing into them.
"I don't think there's a magic switch or what not," Kelly told the assembled media Wednesday at the Novacare Complex when asked about why his rookies are suddenly improving. "You have a bunch of guys; Zach [Ertz] and Earl [Wolff] are also in that [same] situation [as Lane Johnson] and they are bi-products of their experiences.
"They're starting to get a feel for what they're doing and there isn't a newness to it. I think they've taken the same approach of all being real students of the game and they love playing this game. I see all of the guys growing each week and that's a positive. I see improvement and that's what we want as the season goes along here, is seeing improvement."
Nowhere can that improvement be more evident than in the case of first-round draft choice Lane Johnson.
Johnson has certainly taken his fair share of lumps and gone through growing pains this season since being the fourth overall choice in April's draft out of Oklahoma. Having limited experience at the offensive tackle position he has stepped right in and been this team's starting right tackle since virtually the first day of practices in May.
"I think Lane has really come along," Kelly explained. "He probably played his best game to date against Oakland. I think all rookies come down to the experience factor. Lane very rarely makes the same mistake twice and that's the mark of a really good football player."
Johnson has the benefit of working alongside some of most stout leaders that this team has in it's locker room in fellow offensive linemen Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce and Todd Herremans, a fact not lost on the first-year head coach.
"I've seen a steady progress as the season has moved along and I think he's got a great group of guys to learn from," Kelly explained. "The one thing we've learned is he's a great athlete and a great effort player. The one thing is that if you want to play here, you need to be a great effort player and Lane gets that."
The success of first-year Eagles isn't limited to just Johnson and Kelly's logic can certainly be applied across the board.
Zach Ertz, drafted in the second-round out of Stanford hauled in his first career touchdown pass Sunday in Oakland but is quietly putting together a solid season. Through nine games Ertz has 19 catches for 243 yards. While not the immediate production that many expected, the 22-year old 10.5 yards per catch while getting limited snaps.
On the defensive side of the ball, Earl Wolff has seen significant playing time in relief of Patrick Chung who has struggled to stay on the field with a shoulder injury this season. The fifth-round draft choice out of North Carolina State is giving the Eagles hope they have finally solved their safety conundrum.
The 23-year old has 43 tackles and is showing signs of growth each week.
Kelly, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office showed so much confidence in third-round choice Bennie Logan that they jettisoned free agent signing Isaac Sopoaga to the New England Patriots at the deadline.
Whether it's Johnson, Ertz or Wolff, Kelly understood upon entering this season that he needed the support of his veterans to help the rookies along.
They bought in almost immediately.
"I think those guys are all intelligent and they understand that we talk about doing it our way and the only reason we do it our way is because if there was a better way we'd do it that way," Kelly said. "We've been consistent with them as a staff and they've been consistent in how they come in here every day. That's what I love about this group. It's the approach they take every single day. I think they're excited about everything including what we're doing on a Wednesday in November."
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
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