The roster says Saquon Barkley is a running back.
And it says Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton and Lane Johnson are offensive linemen.
They have different meeting rooms, different position coaches and they’re sure built differently.
But in a powerful and unique way, they’re really one unit. There’s a rare symbiotic kinship between the Eagles’ 2,000-yard rusher and the elite offensive linemen who block for him.
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And that’s a big reason the Eagles have one of the most productive rushing attacks in NFL history.
“Two things: We appreciate him and he appreciates us,” Jordan Mailata said. “I think he appreciates us because it's probably the first time (he’s) been in sync (with his offensive line). And his keenness to know what we're thinking. He always asks us, ‘What are you thinking?’ He asks us almost every week, what are your favorite runs this week?
“We have a group chat, just the five of us and him. And we just go through our favorite runs, and I guess he voices it to his coach, his running back coach or Kellen (Moore), and those plays are put in the game. You know I think that's the first time that’s ever happened for us.
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“It's a pretty special relationship to have with a running back who's always keen to know what we like.”
If you have a very good offensive line and a very good running back, you can have a lot of success. Miles Sanders ran for over 1,200 yards and went to a Pro Bowl in 2022 and D’Andre Swift ran for over 1,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl last year.
But what we saw this year, this was next-level stuff.
With 3,048 rushing yards, a 4.9 average and 29 rushing touchdowns, the Eagles became the first team with 3,000 rushing yards, at least 25 rushing TDs and a 4.9 average in 76 years - since the 1948 49ers (who played in the AAFC, which was absorbed into the NFL in 1950).
That doesn’t happen without some sort of special connection between the line and the back.
“He’s always asking about our blocking schemes, what our sweet spots are as far as what we’re thinking so they sync up better, so he’s really inquisitive when it comes to blocking angles and what we're trying to do,” Lane Johnson said.
“He was raised right. He’s a man with a lot of character. I really felt that in the first few days of meeting him.
“He played golf with the guys and we hung out before we ever stepped in and practiced. And so we kind of knew what he was about. He was a team-first guy, and he was always positive and you see people gravitate towards that type of personality.”
It’s a perfect match. Barkley is incredibly talented and so are all five of the Eagles’ offensive linemen. But the success they’re having goes way beyond talent.
They prepare the same way. They think the same way. They approach the game the same way.
“I would say he makes it all an us thing and not a me thing,” Becton said. “I've been around backs where it’s just all about them and I'm going to make sure I do what I got to do and y'all just go block.
“He's a real team guy so that helps out a lot and that makes us want to go harder for him.”
If the Eagles are going to beat the Packers in their NFC wild-card round game at the Linc Sunday and if they’re going to make a deep postseason run, Barkley and the Eagles’ star-studded offensive line are going to have to be a huge part of it.
The Eagles this year became the first team since the 2009 Jets and only the third team since 1986 to run the ball 600 or more times and throw the ball fewer than 500 times.
“When he came in, he spent time with each and every one of us, had conversations with us, just developed that great chemistry,” Fred Johnson said. “I feel like he's done an excellent job of letting us be available to him, whatever we want to talk about. That just goes to his ability to be a great teammate. He's just a great person. And it comes natural to him. There's nothing forced.
“He trusts us, we trust him. We know who we got in the backfield. That's all she wrote.”
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