With Brandon Brooks turning thirty-one in August, the Eagles team could look ahead to the future of the guard position with a few quality depth picks in the middle rounds of the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. It goes without saying that Brandon Brooks is one of the best guards in the NFL, and he has been that for the past few years. However, he is starting to age, and that could become a problem in two to three years. Besides that, the left guard position is far for solidified for the future. Isaac Seumalo is the current starter at left guard for the Eagles. He is an average starter in the NFL, could be a lot better, could be a lot worse, but the left guard position is definitely something the team could look to upgrade in the coming years. Besides, it never hurts to have good offensive line depth for when inevitable injuries come to hurt to unit.
This is where Netane Muti, the physically talented Fresno State guard, comes into play. Muti is a player who, unfortunately, has struggled with injuries during the vast majority of his collegiate playing career. However, when he has been on the field for the Bulldogs, he has played at an extremely high level. His tape rivals that of the best guards in this class, but his medical history will scare a lot of NFL teams away completely. However, I do have faith in his pure talent at the position, and believe he is well worth a shot on early day three, maybe even early day two.
What does he bring to the table though? Well, put simply, he is a very athletic mover with the strength and tenacity to thrive in the NFL. His quick feet and short-area quickness makes him a tough task for even the most athletic defensive lineman. He can quickly come out of his stance to make a block, or get out in space to block second and third level defenders for big gains. Overall, he is a great mover who is extremely comfortable moving in space. His overall quickness also lends itself to being able to mirror pass rushers and keep them from getting to his quarterback. His fluidity makes it so, even if a defender does beat him, he’s able to adjust and recover to keep his QB clean. He also brings plenty of power and nastiness to the position, which NFL teams will fall in love with. His natural power is impressive, as he is a strong blocker at the point of attack, opening up rushing lanes for his running backs. He sticks to his blocking assignment and finishes the play, which everyone loves to see. His strength also comes in handy when pass protecting, as he can keep pass rushers at bay with his strength and mobility in tandem.
Overall, Netane Muti was a productive player at Fresno State, but he struggled to stay healthy with some pretty significant lower-body injuries. Even still, he is a great player with a ton of traits which NFL teams will fall in love with. He is very much worth a mid round selection for this Eagles team, as they should be looking at add some more depth in the future. A year or two to sit behind Seumalo and Brooks to coach him up, an hopefully he increase his durability during that time. In a few years time, he should be pushing for one of the starting guard positions on this team, if he does not have it already.
Philadelphia Sports Chronicle 