Eagles Top 30: Is Lane Johnson the best right tackle in the NFL?

Eagles vs. Redskins, Dec. 30, 2018

Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson is one of the best right tackles in the NFL. Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Philadelphia Eagles will report to training camp on Wednesday, July 24 to kick off the 2019 season.

In those 30 days leading up to training camp, NJ Advance Media will be counting down the 30 most important players for the 2019 season.

That is: the players that will be the most important to the team’s success this upcoming season.

Checking in at No. 5 is a defensive end who missed most of last season due to injury but needs to emerge in his third year ...

No. 30: LB Zach Brown, No. 29: RB Miles Sanders, No. 28: DE Josh Sweat, No. 27: CB Rasul Douglas, No. 26: DE Vinny Curry, No. 25: LT Andre Dillard, No. 24: LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, No. 23: WR Nelson Agholor, No. 22: CB Sidney Jones, No. 21: K Jake Elliott, No. 20: RB Jordan Howard, No. 19: TE Dallas Goedert, No. 18: DT Malik Jackson, No. 17: LB Nigel Bradham, No. 16: QB Nate Sudfeld, No. 15: S Rodney McLeod, No. 14: CB Ronald Darby, No. 13: G Brandon Brooks, No. 12: WR DeSean Jackson, No. 11: CB Avonte Maddox, No. 10: WR Alshon Jeffery, No. 9: OT Jason Peters, No. 8: DE Brandon Graham, No. 7: TE Zach Ertz, No. 6: C Jason Kelce, No. 5: DE Derek Barnett

No. 4 ...

WHO: Lane Johnson

POSITION: Right Tackle

AGE: 29

YEAR: 7th

HOW HE DID IN 2018: Not that he needed to, but Johnson proved his toughness (and skills) last season. He struggled (relative to how he usually plays) early in the season as he battled various injuries. Played through an ankle injury against the Giants in Week 6. Then, he was carted off with a knee injury against the Jaguars in Week 8 and was rumored to be out for a month, but actually only missed one game. He was one of the best offensive linemen in the league for the second half of the season and was initially snubbed for a Pro Bowl bid, though he eventually made it as an alternate.

Only three right tackles graded out better than Johnson last season, per PFF — Rams’ Rob Havenstein, Chiefs’ Mitchell Schwartz and Saints’ Ryan Ramcyzk.

He allowed five sacks the first six weeks of the season, and then none the rest of the way.

STATS: Overall, Johnson allowed 36 pressures — his most since 2013 — though 25 of them came within the first six weeks.

WHY HE’S IMPORTANT: Johnson is the Eagles’ best offensive lineman, and there are many around the league who would argue he’s the best right tackle in the NFL. At his position, he’s a freak athlete who dominates at all levels of the field when he’s healthy. Historically, the numbers show that the Eagles are simply a better team with him in the lineup.

Since 2016, the Eagles are 30-11 when Johnson plays, and 3-9 when he doesn’t.

Plus, the options behind Johnson to play if he gets hurt aren’t all that inspiring — Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Jordan Mailata, who only started playing football at all last year. Vaitai has been practicing at right guard, and wasn’t very good in 2018 when he had to play at tackle.

Andre Dillard was drafted to be exclusively a left tackle, so he’s not really an option, either.

HE SAID IT: “I know guys that are considered some of the greatest players at their position and quite frankly they don’t work hard at all. Then there’s guys like Lane Johnson that are arguably the top at their position, but they’re spending their summer saying ‘I’ll try to get better because I want to be the best’. They commit to that, they commit to the process, even if they’ve got Super Bowls or they’ve got Pro Bowls and they’ve got Super Bowl rings and they’re making $13-14 (million) a year." — O-Line guru Duke Manyweather, on Johnson

Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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