If he wasn’t at the top of most Eagles fans’ wish list of player to be traded last offseason, Eagles center Jason Kelce was certainly in the top three.

His play somewhat declined last year, even though he made his second career Pro Bowl appearance. Not only did he not seem like the same player last season, but he also carried a big price tag, with a salary cap hit of $6.2 million this year that rises to $7.2 million in 2018.

Even Kelce, who turned 30 on Nov. 5, admitted to reporters during training camp that he was surprised he was still around. The center also said he hit the weight room harder and put in extra work on his technique to get his game back to where it used to be.

Halfway through the season, Kelce is literally at the center of an Eagles offensive line living up to its preseason expectation of being one of the best. Philadelphia ranks No. 3 in the NFL in rushing, with an average of 136.8 yards per game.

“He’s very disciplined right now,” said offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland during Tuesday’s media availability. “I think he’s much more disciplined with the little things, the technique portions of it. He’s always been consistent, but just being consistent with it constantly. To me, he’s been excellent with that.”

What has also helped Kelce is that Stoutland isn’t asking him to do too much. He said that wasn’t the case in 2016.

“To be fair to Kelce, I asked him last year to do a whole bunch,” said Stoutland. “I think I asked him to do a little bit too much. I think that kind of diluted a little bit of his ability, his production level a little bit to be honest.

“That’s on me. This year we tightened it up a little bit and put him in better positions to be productive and successful. But I always had a tremendous regard for Jason Kelce and his ability to play center in this league, trust me.”

Exactly what some of that extra load required came on various pass protections. Film of Kelce also showed that he was asked to go a long way in various run-fits.

“Listen, we have a million decisions going into a game, how we’re going to block a certain front,” said Stoutland. “There can be three or four ways we’re going to block this front, but I have to ultimately make his decision based on the personnel matchup and all of that stuff. I’m not always right, but the bottom line is I think this year we put him in a really good spot, put him in good positions to make good plays, to be productive.”

As a whole, the line is not constructed on finesse but physicality.

“That’s the mentality, that’s who we are,” said Stoutland. “We’re Philadelphia, we get after people, and we’re going to do that forever as long as I’m coaching the offensive line. That’s what we do, that’s what we preach, that’s what we major in. I think that’s part of being an offensive lineman.”

Kelce and the rest of the offensive line are certainly getting after people. The Eagles rushing attack is one of the top-rated units as a result.