It’s not quite up there on the Saquon Barkley or Bryce Huff scale, but the Eagles added a veteran depth piece along the interior of the offensive line Tuesday morning, agreeing to a one-year contract with Matt Hennessy.
The news was first reported by Zach Berman and Bo Wulf of PHLY and confirmed by NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Hennessy grew up in Bardonia, N.Y., and went to high school across the state line at nearby Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., also the alma mater of Jabrill Peppers and Tommy DeVito. He played at Temple and was the Falcons’ 3rd-round pick in 2020.
Hennessy played both center and left guard with the Falcons and started all 17 games in 2022 at center before missing last year with a knee injury he suffered early in training camp.
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In 2022, his one year as a full-time starter, Hennessy had a Pro Football Focus grade of 76.4 overall, 88.1 as a run blocker and 50.5 as a pass blocker. Of 33 centers who played at least 500 snaps, he ranked sixth overall, third as a run blocker and 30th as a pass blocker.
In his three seasons in Atlanta, Hennessy played 1,038 snaps at center and 232 at left guard.
With Jason Kelce retiring and right guard Cam Jurgens expected to move to center, the Eagles needed depth along the interior line, and Hennessy can back up center. Hennessy also gives the Eagles flexibility if at some point they wanted to experiment with Landon Dickerson at center because of his experience at left guard.
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The Eagles’ backup interior linemen last year were Sua Opeta (527 snaps) and Tyler Steen (71 snaps). Jack Driscoll played almost exclusively right tackle the last two years but played over 400 snaps at right guard in 2021. Opeta and Driscoll are currently free agents.
At Temple, Hennessy was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, awarded annually to the top center in college football. The Rimington Trophy is named after Dave Rimington, who finished his career with the Eagles in 1988 and 1989.
Hennessy and Dion Dawkins are the only Temple offensive linemen drafted in the first three rounds over the past 30 years. Dawkins, a 2nd-round pick in 2017, just signed a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension on Monday.
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