Philadelphia Eagles: The Landon Dickerson-era is finally upon us
When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Landon Dickerson 37th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, it turned quite a few heads in the City of Brotherly Love.
Now sure, some quibble with the idea of selecting an oft-injured offensive lineman with such a premium pick and would have preferred a player like Creed Humphrey based on their floor alone, but when you can grab a player with “generational potential” in the second round you sort of have to do it, right?
Even if the Sidney Jones experiment of yesteryear was a dud, that doesn’t mean you can become completely gun-shy to ever drafting a player who spent collegiate time in the injury tent.
Well fear not, Philadelphia fans, for Landon Dickerson has officially been activated from the non-football PUP List and has officially made his debut in a midnight green uniform.
The initial reports? I’ll let Sacha Baron Cohen handle this one.
Landon Dickerson is going to really good for a very long time for the Philadelphia Eagles.
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The one knock Jason Kelce has consistently had to roll his eyes through for the entirety of his NFL career is that he’s too small.
Granted, in the real world, no one is going to call a 6-foot-3, 295-pound man small, but in the NFL, aka the land of jumbo giants, being a sub-300 pound center is relatively uncommon, as it presents some unique challenges when facing up with ultra jumbo nose tackles like Michael Pierce or Linval Joseph.
To his credit, Kelce has largely silenced these doubters with a decade straight of exemplary play, but it’s not like teams have been flocking to secure the next great 290-pound center out of a small school in the sixth round, as the pride of Cincinnati very much remains an exception, not the rule.
Landon Dickerson, by contrast, represents the opposite end of the center size spectrum and may do so in the best way imaginable.
Measuring in at 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, Dickerson is a big, big dude. Running into him surely feels like diving headfirst into a brick wall, only this brick wall has impeccable footwork and hands that hit like, well, like much smaller brick walls propelled by pistons.
If this was all Dickerson brought to the table, being a big dude, he’d surely still be an NFL prospect, as plenty of teams deploy power run games, but the pride of Florida State/Alabama just so happens to be a nimble technician capable of running stunts, getting to the next level, and most crucially of all, pulling in space as a lead blocker.
Remember, Dickerson is the same guy who did cartwheels at Alabama’s Pro Day on a torn ACL. I can’t do cartwheels ever, so that’s pretty gosh darn impressive.
Now officially allowed to take part in team activities, Dickerson expects to slot in as the Eagles’ top interior reserve offensive lineman, kicking Nate Herbig down the rung at both left guard, center, and potentially even right guard, which was the former Stanford Cardinals’ best position last season. He’ll surely be active on game days once he’s fully up to speed and will find himself an injury and/or a bad string of games by Isaac Seumalo away from entering the starting lineup a la Tom Brady back in 2001.
And the best part? With Matt Pryor traded away to the Indianapolis Colts alongside a seventh-round pick for a future sixth-rounder, Dickerson will graciously be reunited with his college number, which just feels right for oh so many reasons.
Don’t trade Zach Ertz to Minnesota. dark. Next
As the Philadelphia Eagles’ season inches closer, excitement is at an all-time high. How will Nick Sirianni and Jonathan Gannon’s respective units look when they’re actually scheming to win games? Will Jalen Hurts‘ on-field play live up to his incredible summer swagger? What sort of crazy outfits will Gardner Minshew rock in the game-day tunnels? While how the team’s backup guard/center looks on the sideline may not be at the top of many a fan’s list, having Landon Dickerson in that role over a player like Matt Pryor will surely make me sleep sounder at night.