Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson Are Still Top 5. The Age Question Won’t Go Away.

The Philadelphia Eagles have spent more than a decade treating offensive tackle like a luxury position. And it has worked. Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata — the names rotate, the results don’t. They’ve blocked for Michael Vick, Sam Bradford, Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts. They’ve made average quarterbacks look good and good ones look great.

So when Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano ranked the top five offensive tackle tandems in the NFL, it wasn’t a shock to see Johnson and Mailata still in the conversation. Fourth best, actually. But that ranking comes with a caveat the size of Johnson’s medical file.

Johnson turned 36 in May. He missed half of last season with a foot injury. The Eagles’ offensive line, normally a well-oiled machine, looked human without him. Manzano knows the risk but isn’t ready to move on yet.

“I might be overlooking Johnson’s age and injury-filled 2025, but he was still effective in the 10 games he did play last season,” Manzano wrote.

He’s not wrong. When Johnson was on the field, he wasn’t a liability. He just wasn’t available often enough. And that’s the problem. The Eagles eventually need to find his replacement. But here’s the thing — they don’t have to rush it. Not with Mailata on the left side playing at an All-Pro level. The pressure isn’t what it would be if both tackles were old and breaking down.

The coaching change nobody is talking about enough

Longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is gone. Chris Kuper is in. And Kuper has already signaled he’ll take a different approach — giving his tackles more help rather than leaving them isolated on islands. That could be a boost for Johnson, especially if the foot issues linger. But it also changes the identity of a unit that has prided itself on winning one-on-one matchups.

If the new scheme works, Johnson and Mailata might climb even higher on these lists next year. If it doesn’t, the Eagles could be looking at a middle-of-the-pack line for the first time in a decade. Either way, the clock is ticking on Johnson’s career. The question is whether Mailata can hold down the fort long enough for the Eagles to find the next guy without panic.