October 07, 2026
Matt Marton/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Eagles third-round rookie Markel Bell might have to take over for Lane Johnson full time.
The Philadelphia Eagles are going to have to play the rest of the 2026 season without Lane Johnson, who announced his retirement on Tuesday. Before he retired though, Johnson missed the Eagles' Week 4 loss to the Rams, and third-round rookie Markel Bell filled in.
Bell was drafted with the idea in mind that if all went well, he would eventually succeed Johnson at RT. He may have to do so a lot sooner than expected. Here we'll take a look at Bell's performance against the Rams.
Let's start with the positives. Bell is powerful in the run game.
On one of the early snaps in the game, Bell got two pancakes on one play. He cleans up Tyler Davis (90) on a down block, then gets to the second level, latches onto Nate Landman (53), and blocks him through the whistle until Landman ends up on the ground, too. Great rep.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
Here, again, you see Bell's pure power, as he washes DT Braden Fiske (55) out of the play.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
He is also able to get to the second level, though he is not going to be confused for Lane Johnson on the athleticism front.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
In pass protection, Bell has elite length. He is 6'9 with 36 3/8" arms.
He is effective when he gets those arms extended. Here he's able to keep Byron Young at bay, and he pushes Young to the ground to finish the rep.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
That's what the Eagles hope to see a lot of from Bell.
But ultimately, as you might expect from a developmental rookie making his rookie debut, there's a lot to clean up.
First let's look at a run play. Bell's assignment is a difficult reach block on Kobie Turner (91). He doesn't come close to blocking him. (This is the type of block Lane Johnson could execute, but the Eagles may not be able to ask Bell to do.)
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
The Rams ran a number of stunts on Sunday. Bell and RG Tyler Steen did a poor job of passing off rushers to each other. This is a three-man stunt by the Rams. Bell does not pick up the looping DT.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
Here's one of the TD passes to Darius Cooper. Bell and Steen do a better job of passing rushers off to each other, but Bell is a little slow to get to the looping DT and he gives up a pressure.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
Bell also struggled against blitzes. Here the Rams send three guys (lol) at Bell, and he doesn't block any of them.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
On this blitz, Bell is blocking Fiske, but he lets go of him to pick up the blitzing safety, Kamren Kinchins (5). I don't know how Chris Kuper teaches this, but the rule of thumb is typically to always block the inside guy.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
Another thing that was sort of a common theme was that Bell has an internal clock. There's a certain point where he expects the ball to have already come out, and he'll stop blocking. Internal clocks for a QB, good. Internal clocks for a lineman, bad.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
There was also maybe a little bit of that on the sack-fumble he gave up near the end of the game.
— PV2014 (@PV__2014) October 7, 2026
That should be an easier issue to correct.
I don't think Bell is ready to start. Opposing defenses are going to throw everything they can at him, and my guess if that we're going to see him struggle. I also think the Eagles should just start him anyway. Let him get as many reps as he can, allow him to improve, see what he has, and let his performance guide whether or not the team still needs a replacement for Johnson next offseason, or if Bell shows enough that he can be the guy.
However, I do think there's a chance that the coaching staff might prefer to play the far more experienced Fred Johnson if they still have delusions that they are Super Bowl contenders. Of course, Johnson missed the last two games with a knee injury, so that might not even be an option, for now.
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