King Dunlap was supposed to be cut. He wasn’t supposed to be on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Then Pro Bowl Left Tackle Jason Peters tore his achilles twice in the off season. The Eagles signed Demetress Bell from the Bills (who was already on their radar to counter balance Peters at LT) to start at LT in Peters’ stead and initially thought they would keep Dunlap for depth since he already had been with the team.
“I’m definitely going in with the mind set of competing and trying to take somebody’s spot, whether it’s Demetress or somebody else up front,” Dunlap said. “Them bringing him in, yeah, it was frustrating, but it didn’t change my mind set at all. I’m still going into training camp to compete, to earn a starting spot, and do what I can to get on the field and help this team.”
Dunlap, a seventh-round pick back in 2008, is one of only 10 current Eagles remaining from the 2008 team, the last Eagles team to win a playoff game.
Standing 6-foot-9 means Dunlap must really focus on his technique or he can get pushed around. When he uses his arms to gain leverage and stays low, he’s a powerful blocker. When he lets his technique go, he’s inconsistent.
Which is why the Eagles signed Bell on April 5 and gave him a five-year deal worth $34.5 million. But if Bell struggles or gets hurt for the third time in four years, the contract becomes a one-year deal worth $3.15 million. And Dunlap, presumably, goes in.
Dunlap ended up beating out the disappointing Bell for the starting Left Tackle spot. That’s right: they signed a big money free agent, and the guy they were going to cut ended up supplanting the free agent. So that tells you why King Dunlap is doing so poorly: he’s not good enough. The Eagles thought he wasn’t good enough, and then when their plan B failed, they tried to convince themselves Dunlap was good enough to start (subsequently ignoring 4 prior years of sub par performance).
Blame the player personnel folks (Howie Roseman and Andy Reid) before you blame a player who is in over his head. The offense is dead without Jason Peters. Andy Reid had no rea