The Philadelphia Eagles’ Crimson Tide continues with C Landon Dickerson

(Almost) 24 hours removed from landing their preferred WR1 – at least according to Ian Rapoport – the Philadelphia Eagles decided to address the offensive side of the ball with their second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, selecting Landon Dickerson, guard/center, out of Alabama 37th overall.

Considering the team’s depth issues on the offensive line last season and on the offense as a whole, this isn’t a particularly surprising pick, but once again, Howie Roseman stood pat, allowed the board to come to him, and walked away with a player few expected to still be on the board in the low 30s.

But hey, from one Philly fan to another, I’ll take it.

So, with a second former Alabama Elephant/Crimson Tider set to join Jalen Hurts in the Philadelphia Eagles’ rapidly-improving offense, what should fans expect from their new lineman, and more importantly, where will he play?

Dickerson has the potential to be a Day 1 starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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To say Landon Dickerson has an injury history is an understatement.

He suffered season-ending injuries during each of his first three season at Florida State – including one as a true junior that afforded him a medical redshirt from the NCAA – and finished out his final season of college football, now playing for Alabama, on the mend as well, exiting the Tide’s game versus Florida with a knee injury that was almost season-ending, save two snaps in victory formation in versus Ohio State.

For some teams, that surely was surely enough to either take Dickerson off of their board entirely or at least drop him down considerably, but apparently, the Philadelphia Eagles were not one of those teams, as they happily selected the center without prejudice.

Why? Because when healthy, Dickerson has the ability to be the best offensive lineman in a class many consider very good upfront.

Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds, Dickerson is a monster of an interior offensive lineman. He’s a fantastic zone-blocker, a capable road grader with power to spare, and has an uncanny ability to make opposing defensive tackles look silly when trying to get to the quarterback. Dickerson has only allowed one sack in the past three seasons – including none while paired up with Jalen Hurts in 2018 – and one of the rare players who recorded more pancakes during his final season (16) than he gave up pressures in college, period.

No wonder Dickerson was a five-star recruit coming out of high school according to 247 Sports, was the first true freshman to start at Florida State since Jamie Dukes in 1982, and a transfer highly-touted enough that he was picked up by, and started right away for, Nick Saban’s squad.

And assuming he’s cleared and ready to roll for Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season – which appears to be the case – Dickerson is a borderline lock to start for the Philadelphia Eagles this fall.

Now on paper, that sounds like a risky proposition. Jason Kelce is still one of the best centers in the game, assuming Brandon Brooks doesn’t get traded this weekend – hopefully for a cornerback – the right guard position Dickerson played at FSU is probably taken too. But as for left guard, the position currently held by Isaac Seumalo? That, my friends, should be considered one of the hottest seats in the league.

Assuming Jeff Stoutland allows for an open competition across the offensive line, the only reason Dickerson wouldn’t find some role across the offensive line would be if he’s simply not quite ready to play or misses most of the preseason finishing up his return to form.

If that happens, that’s okay too, because this pick is way more about the future than the present.

Whether Dickerson beat out Seumalo right from the jump and starts at left guard for the next decade, he waits in the wings to become the team’s next franchise center, or Brooks ends up traded to a contender and the team needs a new starting right guard – which shouldn’t happen, but if it does, please bring back a corner – there’s a spot on any offensive line in the NFL for “BIG COUNTRRYYYYYYYY“.

Fortunately, that team is the Philadelphia Eagles.

While the selection of Landon Dickerson is not without risk, and the Philadelphia Eagles are still desperately in need of another cornerback in the worst way, his selection is a great value and could pay dividends for years to come.