The Philadelphia Eagles again filled two needs Friday.

The Eagles drafted Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Steen with the 65th overall pick, the first of their back-to-back selections. The Eagles then drafted Illinois safety Sydney Brown with the 66th pick. 

The Eagles needed offensive line depth after losing both Isaac Seumalo and Andre Dillard. The Eagles needed safeties after losing Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, bother starters last season. 

I don’t remember when I was this happy with a draft. 

Let’s start with Steen. At 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, he only played one year at Alabama after starting his collegiate career at Vanderbilt. He started his career as defensive tackle, but switched to the offensive line the next two years, earning all-Southeastern Conference honors in both years. He played one season at right tackle and the other at left tackle.

The Eagles believe in winning the trenches, just look at the previous two drafts. They drafted Landon Dickerson in 2021, and Cam Jurgens last year. The Eagles really put a lot of stock into the offensive line, and that is a huge reason for their success.

As long as the line is strong and healthy, the running backs and Jalen Hurts can and will thrive. It comes down to winning in the trenches, and the Eagles clearly understand that importance.

His experience at multiple positions on the line is also very important. With the uncertainty if Jason Kelce will play in 2024 and the health of Lane Johnson, getting Steen was a great pick.

Now, onto Brown.

He was a five-year starter for the Illini. The 5-foot-10, 211-pound Brown made 320 tackles (10 for loss) and 10 interceptions, including six this past season. Brown also finished with 26 pass breakups (13 in 2022). He also played on special teams for Illinois. That could help out even more here. Let’s face it, the special teams were not great last year, which showed up during the Super Bowl. 

The Eagles return safeties Reed Blankenship, who looked pretty good last year, and K’Von Wallace, and added veterans Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans. But safety was still a need. Brown was a first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection, and he could garner some playing time right away. Like Steen, Brown was a solid pick.