Landon Dickerson's Versatility Gives Eagles Options
With Jeff Stoutland in charge of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, the organization has been in great hands to get top-tier production from the guys up front.
Eagles fans have grown accustomed to stellar offensive line play for most of Stoutland’s tenure in Philadelphia, but the line has undergone some changes lately, with new faces replacing old ones.
Issac Seumalo replaced Stefen Wisniewski, Jordan Mailata replaced Jason Peters, and now, Landon Dickerson will essentially replace Brandon Brooks or Jason Kelce later down the road.
Dickerson settled in well at left guard during his rookie season, though he'll be the first to tell you he could have played better.
The 6-6, 333-pound Alabama product, by way of Florida State, is never satisfied with the way he plays, and that's probably a good thing.
Many have discussed the possibility of keeping the 23-year-old entrenched at left guard as a companion for Mailata at left tackle for years to come.
Keeping him there will undoubtedly be an option, but with the return of Seumalo, who never seems to get the praise he deserves from fans, though his teammates know how valuable he is, and Dickerson’s versatility, the former Crimson Tide mauler could be the Eagles’ answer to replacing Brooks.
The right guard spot was the position in college Dickerson was most familiar with outside of the center. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 216 snaps in four games at the spot during the 2019 season for Alabama, allowing zero sacks.
Dickerson, though, predominately played center in college.
Selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Dickerson was perceived as Kelce’s heir apparent, but with his versatility already being called upon once as a rookie, it’s fair to suspect it will be again during his sophomore season.
Nick Sirianni named Dickerson the replacement for Brooks at right guard once before, and that was when the rookie was called upon to replace the former Pro Bowler in Philadelphia’s 17-11 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, but before the season-ending injury to Seumalo.
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Still, the Eagles head coach envisioned an offensive line consisting of Mailata, Seumalo, Kelce, Dickerson, and Johnson as his best possible lineup without Brooks available. Given the current makeup of Philadelphia’s interior line and reports of Kelce returning for the 2022 season, Sirianni should follow through with that same vision.
Seumalo hasn’t lined up at right guard since his rookie season in 2016, which was 136 snaps. The Eagles left guard has entrenched himself as a quality starter at the position for the last three seasons despite suffering season-ending injuries in the last two.
Still, with Seumalo’s team-friendly contract, and production at left guard, Philadelphia should keep their 2016 third-round pick around while kicking out Dickerson, who has most recently lined up at right guard between the two players.
Dickerson's versatility is already proving valuable regardless of the Eagles' decision in the future with their interior offensive line. Not only can he provide the team with a viable answer at three different positions, but he has lived up to his draft hype,earning high grades from Pro Football Focus.
PFF had Dickerson surrendering just two sacks on 485 pass-blocking snaps, with 768 snaps at left guard and 91 at right. The site also graded Dickerson as the 12th-best guard over that span.
Dickerson was only one year removed from a torn ACL suffered during his final season at Alabama. The second-year post-injury has been known as a player returning to form in the football world.
Expecting an even better Dickerson in his sophomore season in the NFL is plausible given his dominance in run blocking, successful transition into guard play, and fully healthy. But again, Dickerson’s versatility is what will come in handy once again.
Organizations routinely struggle to replace mainstays along the offensive line, with numerous examples occurring year-in-and-year-out.
The Eagles avoid those problems with their investment of resources into the trenches, and with a line coach in Stoutland, who helps players reach their potential more often than not.
Dickerson's flexibility gives Philadelphia a mainstay along the offensive line even though his official position hasn’t even been established quite yet.
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Conor Myles covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-hosts the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast on Bleav Podcast Network. Reach Conor at ConorMylesSI@gmail.com or Twitter: @ConorMylesSI
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
