Nick Sirianni Offers Quite the Comp When Discussing Landon Dickerson
You could almost see the wheels in motion when Nick Sirianni was asked about his left guard Landon Dickerson on Monday and who the rookie might remind the coach of, a day after the Eagles' 33-18 win over the New York Jets.
Dickerson, of course, has been a big part of an offensive line that has spearheaded Sirianni's offense into rushing for 175 yards or more for the sixth consecutive game against the Jets, the first time the franchise has done that since 1949.
The group also helped backup quarterback Gardner Minshew compile a 133.7 passer rating, the best mark for Philadelphia since another No. 2, Nick Foles, went off in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.
"I know this is high praise, but I do see some of the physical movements that kind of like [Colts OG] Quenton Nelson had," Sirianni said of the Alabama rookie, who was forced into the lineup this season due to injuries suffered to projected starting OGs Brandon Brooks and Isaac Seumalo.
And Dickerson himself was coming off a torn ACL suffered in December of last year when he was with the Crimson Tide.
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Nelson, of course, is one of the best offensive linemen in football, arguably the best after being selected by Indianapolis as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Notre Dame.
The 330-pound New Jersey native is three-for-three when it comes to All-Pro nods and when you turn to the film, Nelson is one of the main-event stars in the league as someone everyone wants to see, even his peers.
Dickerson isn't quite Nelson yet and Sirianni hesitated likely because he doesn't want those kinds of expectations heaped upon his promising first-year player but Dickerson offers a similar presence to Nelson, according to Sirianni.
"There are some things that I see and I'm like, ‘That looked like Quenton right there,’" Sirianni said. "Obviously, I think Quenton is a great football player, so that's high praise because Quenton has done a lot for me in my career in the teams that I've been on. But I do see that every once in a while where I'm like, ‘Hey, that movement looked like Quenton right there,’ as comp goes."
With Nelson the first thing you think about is physicality and the nastiness to finish blocks.
"I just see Landon playing tough and playing physical and playing nasty which is what you want out of your offensive line," Sirianni said. "So, he's getting more confident, more comfortable being on that offensive line."
Playing between All-Pro center Jason Kelce and the emerging Jordan Mailata at left tackle has also helped Dickerson hit the ground running.
"He's got one of the best centers to ever play this game next to him helping him through it," said Sirianni. "What an opportunity for him to play alongside Jason Kelce and help him through that first year and forward."
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As for Mailata, it's about the combination blocks and over 700 pounds combined pushing at opposing defensive linemen best evidenced by Kenny Gainwell's 18-yard touchdown run against the Jets.
"Then also being able to have combination blocks with Jordan Mailata," said the coach. "He's huge, and so now you get those two huge bodes on the left side working combination blocks, whether that's on the front side of a run, which you saw on the touchdown run by Kenny working a combination block into the linebacker, or whether that's on the backside of a run where they're working that combination block."
The final piece of the puzzle is offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who Sirianni called the best in football, a day after a health scare at MetLife Stadium in which Stout was taken to the hospital before returning in the second quarter.
"So, he's got two good guys to work with alongside him, too," said Sirianni, "and obviously Coach Stout is a great coach that is continuing to develop him along."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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.
