April 30, 2016
Ron Jenkins/AP
TCU OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai is the second offensive linemen the Eagles have taken in the 2016 NFL Draft.
With their fifth-round pick (164th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected 6'6, 320 pound Texas Christian OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai.
The Eagles did nothing to address the offensive tackle position in free agency, which makes sense, seeing as both starting OT spots are filled. However, Jason Peters turned 34 in January and is currently the third-oldest offensive lineman in the NFL. While Peters has had a tremendous career and is a borderline Hall of Fame talent, his career is clearly in decline and he experienced multiple injuries of the "nagging" variety a season ago. This could very well be his last season in the NFL.
Vaitai played both LT and RT at TCU, but is probably best suited to play RT at the NFL level. It is expected the Lane Johnson will move over to left tackle whenever Peters can no longer play. Vaitai could be developed to eventually fill in at RT.
Mike Mayock of NFL Network projected Vaitai to be drafted in the third or fourth round.
"Yeah, I think third round value, a guy that's rising right now, especially with coaches around the league, I can't even pronounce his first name, but his last name is Vaitai, Big "V" they call him from TCU," said Mayock while speaking in a pre-draft media conference call. "He's going to go in the third or fourth round, can play both sides, and the offensive line coaches around the league love him."
After not selecting any offensive linemen since the Eagles drafted Johnson fourth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Eagles have now taken two offensive linemen in their first four picks of the Doug Pederson regime. The team also drafted versatile lineman Isaac Seumalo in the third round.
For the record, it's pronounced "hal-lah-poo-li-VAH-tee VIE-tie."
