Nick Sirianni holds back on naming the Eagles' next starting right guard

The Philadelphia Eagles are in search of a new starting right guard after losing Mekhi Becton to free agency this past March.

Tyler Steen has been taking first-team reps during open media sessions, but that doesn’t mean the job is his just yet.

Head coach Nick Sirianni made that clear during the team's one-day mandatory minicamp, noting that they won't be able to truly evaluate until pads come on. 

"Yeah, again, just I know we talked yesterday too, don’t have to make any of those decisions quite yet," Sirianni said. "We have a lot of football to practice, a lot of football to play, and obviously, a big part of the offensive line and the evaluation of the offensive line comes in pads. That doesn’t mean we’re not evaluating them like crazy right now, but a big part of that’s going to come when we put the pads on."

Steen was in the running for the starting right guard job last offseason but ended up losing out to Becton, who locked down the role heading into the year. Even with that setback, the Eagles still liked what they saw in Steen and used last season as a chance to let him develop and get more comfortable at the NFL level.

Now, heading into Year 3, Steen is back in the mix, and this time, he's the early favorite. But nothing’s guaranteed. The former third-round pick out of Vanderbilt will need to show he’s taken that next step, especially with guys like Matt Pryor, Kenyon Green, and Trevor Keegan all gunning for the same spot. It’s shaping up to be a pretty competitive battle through camp.

That said, if Steen continues trending in the right direction and shows out when the pads come on, the starting job should be his to lose.