Philadelphia Eagles: Andre Dillard is a perfect heir to Jason Peters

Unwilling to wait for the 25th pick, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up in the first round to draft their left tackle of the future Andre Dillard out of Washington State.

Whelp, there we go, after months of anticipation, the Philadelphia Eagles have finally made their first selection in the 2019 NFL Draft; trading up three slots to draft Andre Dillard out of Washington State.

While this may not be a sexy pick that gets fans in the 215 pumped like, say Hollywood Brown would have been, selecting Dillard all but guarantees the Eagles a smooth transition into the post-Jason Peters-era of football in the City of Brotherly Love.

Good news Carson Wentz; your blindside will be protected for years to come.

A four-year starter at Washington State, Dillard is an elite pass blocker who only allowed one sack as a redshirt senior in 2018 on 677 pressures; among the best mark of any player in college football.

Dillard is also very athletic, running a 4.94 40 at the 2019 NFL Combine while putting up 24 reps, with a 29-inch verticle and a 118-inch broad jump.

Think about that for a second; the Eagles will eventually have two starting tackles who ran a sub-5.0 40 yard dash, making Doug Pederson‘s pull-heavy zone running scheme all the more deadly for years to come.

Now granted, Dillard isn’t a perfect prospect, as the Cougars passed the ball about 70 percent of the time, but unlike the Houston Texans, the team who reportedly planned on selecting the 6-foot-5, 310 pound tackle with the very next pick, the Eagles don’t need him to start right away, and could easily allow him to round out his game while playing as a flex, swing tackle on obvious passing downs.

Honestly, Dillard is so good, he could even come in and compete with Isaac Seumalo for the Eagles left guard spot from day one, and potentially beat out the recently re-signed Pac-12 product for a starting spot.; he’s just that good.

Could the Eagles have potentially targeted a player like Montez Sweat, Mack Wilson, or Nasir Adderley who could contribute right away? Totally, but Howie Roseman clearly identified a player who was a perfect fit for Doug Pederson’s scheme, and for the low, low price of a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, in addition to the 25th overall pick, the Philadelphia Eagles just got their left tackle of the future, and that’s a beautiful thing if you ask me. Welcome to Philadelphia Andre Dillard!