The Philadelphia Eagles have an offensive line problem, and it lands squarely on general manager Howie Roseman’s desk. The Eagles simply can’t run the football. The last couple of draft classes haven’t paid off, and the man who spent years covering up those holes up front isn’t in the building anymore.

So here’s my final take on Roseman. He’s going to have to hit a lot more in the draft over the next year or two. Simple as that.

Howie Roseman’s draft clock is ticking

Think about these last couple of drafts. They have not been that good, and they have not paid off the way Philly needed them to. That’s a tough thing to say about a front office I’ve defended plenty of times, but the results speak for themselves.

Look at Roseman’s philosophy since he first came into his position with the Eagles. He worked his way up, got demoted, and came back. Through all of it, the one constant has been the offensive line. Build through the trenches. That’s been the identity of this organization for as long as he’s been running it.

To be fair, he hasn’t had to worry about it that much. Why? Because Jeff Stoutland was coaching those guys up every single year. Roseman could take swings elsewhere on the roster because he knew whoever landed in that offensive line room was going to get developed. That safety net made a lot of his decisions look smarter than they might have been on paper.

That safety net is gone now. And when the safety net is gone, every miss in the draft shows up on the field.

Did the Eagles let the wrong coach walk?

I can’t help but wonder whether Roseman and Jeff Lurie regret letting Stoutland go. I’m not going to say it was the wrong call. I’ll just say I’d love to know what they’re thinking right now.

Picture Stoutland with a Willie Lampkin or a Drew Kendall. He would have been a perfect coach for those guys. I feel he would have been very much acclimated to getting them ready on short notice, because that’s what he did for years in Philadelphia. He took linemen and had them ready to play when the team needed them, no matter where they came from.

But this is a new era we’re seeing. Philly is going to have to take time and rebuild this offensive line. There’s no shortcut here. The guy who made that process look easy is no longer on the sideline, and we’re finding out in real time how much of the heavy lifting he was doing.

Saquon Barkley isn’t the problem

So why can’t the Eagles run the ball? Is it because Saquon Barkley isn’t good anymore?

No. Absolutely not.

Barkley looks as sharp as can be when he’s on the field. Obviously he’s hurt right now, but every time he gets the ball, he has that quick burst. He looks like a guy who’s ready to break off a big run at any moment. The problem is he just can’t, because there’s no space to run the football.

You can have the most explosive running back in the NFL, and it won’t matter if he’s getting hit the second he takes the handoff. Everybody who wants to point the finger at Barkley needs to watch what’s happening in front of him. He’s not missing holes. The holes aren’t there.

That’s what makes this so frustrating. This team has a running back who can still change a game, and the offensive line isn’t giving him the chance to do it. For a franchise that has hung its hat on the trenches for years, that’s a tough pill to swallow.

Without Stoutland developing whoever comes through that door, the next couple of draft classes have to hit up front, or this run game isn’t coming back anytime soon.