Eagles draft offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo in 3rd round

Apr 30, 2016 - 3:34 AM PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Philadelphia Eagles used their first pick after Carson Wentz to get a player to help protect their new franchise quarterback.

Oregon State offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo was selected by Philadelphia on Friday night in the third round of the NFL draft at No. 79 overall. The versatile Seumalo started at four of the five spots along the offensive line in three seasons in college.

''As a competitor and player, I want to come in and play right away,'' Seumalo said. ''At the same time, I want to learn from the best.''

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Seumalo could compete for the starting spot at left guard with Stefen Wisniewski, Allen Barbre, Andrew Gardner and Matt Tobin.

''He's a hard worker, smart kid, can play multiple positions,'' Pederson. ''Kids that come from coaching stock get it. They have great demeanor, the mindset, the desire, the drive because they've been around football.''

Seumalo's father, Joe Seumalo, was a defensive lineman in the CFL and NFL Europe. He is now the defensive line coach at UNLV.

Seumalo, 6-foot-4 and 303 pounds, started at right guard and left tackle last season. He got 23 of his 37 starts at center. Seumalo missed 2014 because of a broken foot that required two operations.

Seumalo is the first offensive lineman selected by the Eagles since Lane Johnson in the first round of the 2013 draft. They didn't have a second-round pick because they traded it to the Rams last year along with Nick Foles for Sam Bradford.

The Eagles traded up twice to No. 2 to draft Wentz on Thursday night. The former North Dakota State star is expected to play behind Bradford and Chase Daniel this season.

''At North Dakota State, I learned a lot about myself while I wasn't playing,'' said Wentz, who only started his final two seasons with the Bison. ''I wanted to learn as much football as I could and soak up as much as I could from the offensive playbook, the defensive schemes, the whole nine yards. So if that were the case here, nothing is going to change. I'm still going to always prepare the same and compete my tail off and just try and continue to learn. You're never a finished product, so there's always more to learn.''

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