After the retirement of Lane Johnson and the trade of Cam Jurgens, the Eagles are making changes on their offensive line. And one of those changes is expected to be a starting spot for Willie Lampkin, a former undrafted free agent who has become notable over the last two preseasons for dominant performances despite a tiny (by NFL offensive lineman standards) frame.
Lampkin is playing left guard with the starting offensive line at practice today, according to reporters on the scene. Lampkin could also start at center, but one way or another he seems set for the first start of his NFL career on Sunday against the Jaguars in London.
Lampkin was a starting guard for five years of college football, and at North Carolina in 2024 he was a first-team All-American and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the ACC. With that kind of résumé, you’d think he would have been a top draft prospect.
But at North Carolina’s Pro Day, Lampkin measured at just under 5-foot-11, and he weighed 279 pounds. NFL teams don’t want offensive linemen who are that small. Lampkin went undrafted.
The Rams liked Lampkin enough to sign him as an undrafted rookie, and he was dominant in the preseason, pancaking bigger defensive linemen and getting plenty of attention around the league. Unfortunately, Lampkin was injured at the end of the preseason, and the Rams waived him with an injury designation, which ordinarily would have meant he’d go through waivers and spend his rookie year on the Rams’ injured reserve.
But Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman liked what he had seen of Lampkin, enough that he made the very unusual decision to claim an undrafted rookie who was waived-injured. That sent Lampkin to Philadelphia, where he spent his rookie year without ever getting on the field.
This year Lampkin again played very well in the preseason, drawing praise from head coach Nick Sirianni, and he made the Eagles’ 53-man roster and has played in all four games this season, mostly blocking on field goals and extra points.
Now Lampkin is set to get his most extensive professional action. He may look out of place on an NFL offensive line at his size. But based on what he’s done in the preseason, he doesn’t look out of place once he starts blocking people.