Nate Herbig could give Jaguars OL depth following the 2022 NFL Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made several upgrades to their roster over the last few months but it wasn’t feasible to address every need on their roster. Fortunately, there are a few moves the Jags can make after the 2022 NFL Draft to keep filling a few of the remaining holes. One they should consider making is signing former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Nate Herbig.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reported on May 2 that Philly was releasing Herbig and they made it official on the 4th. Garofolo says that the offensive lineman was being shopped during the draft but noting ultimately materialized. Maybe the Eagles’ brass waited a bit of time to see if they got any last-minute offers. Given that they released Hergib, they didn’t get any, or at least one they liked.

After going undrafted in 2019, Herbig signed with Philadelphia. He was pushed into the center stage in 2020, when injuries hit the Eagles’ offensive line hard and 12 different players had to start games. That year, Herbig appeared in 15 games with 12 starts and posted a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 71.2. Last season, the former Stanford Cardinal played all but one game and made five starts. He allowed just one sack and 16 total pressures on 252 pass-blocking snaps. For his efforts, he earned a 68.1 PFF overall grade.

Nate Herbig can bring competition to the Jaguars’ offensive line.

The Jaguars signed right guard Brandon Scherff in free agency and drafted Kentucky center Luke Fortner, leaving left guard as the only position in the interior offensive line they didn’t bolster. Maybe it was because they like what Ben Bartch brings to the table and if that’s the case, general manager Trent Baalke could sign Herbig as a depth move.

On the other hand, the Jags could bring in Herbig to compete with Bartch for the left guard job. After all, he’s mostly played right guard throughout his NFL career but also has experience lining up at left guard. Since he only has three accrued seasons, it wouldn’t be cost-prohibitive to lock him up and have him earn a spot in training camp.

Doug Pederson was the head coach of the Eagles when they signed Herbig and knows him after coaching him for two years. His familiarity and first-hand knowledge of the guard’s skillset could increase his chances of landing in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars have done a good job replenishing a roster that was in need of talent and now that they’ve taken care of their biggest needs, it would be a good idea to make sure it’s stacked from the top to the bottom.