Eagles All-22 Film Review: Landon Dickerson had a really, really good rookie season

Encouraging signs from No.

Time for another Eagles rookie review. This post will follow the same format as last week’s article on DeVonta Smith. I’ll be totally honest, evaluating individual offensive lineman is not something I focus on a great deal during the season (shock!). You don’t have to be a genius to know Jason Kelce played really well. I care about the performance of the offensive line as an overall unit more than I do any individual. I do find watching offensive lineman on an individual basis a lot of fun though, so it is a great thing to do in the off-season.

I was a bit worried about the Landon Dickerson pick due to his injury history, but he stayed healthy throughout the season and I think nearly all Eagles fans would say he had an excellent rookie season. Let’s get to the film. FYI: Don’t expect a detailed breakdown of offensive lineman technique here, I won’t pretend to discuss things like I am an offensive line coach, because I am not! I hope you understand…

Stats/Scheme Notes

Mainly from PFF as usual.

Played a lot this year. 925 total snaps.

834 snaps at LG exclusively after week 2.

Total PFF grade 22nd in the league (interior OL).

PFF credited with 2 sacks allowed, 8 hits, 23, hurries.

Strengths

+ This is a large, large human being. It is noticeable on film just how big this dude is, even next to a giant in Jordan Mailata. He has noticeably wide shoulders.

+ Very aware of his surroundings. Rarely saw him beat by stunts.

+ A bully in the run game, wants to physically dominate opponents. Can drive his opponents into the ground and completely take them out the play. Plays nasty and aggressive on every snap.

+ Quick hands and wants to make the first move in pass protection, doesn’t just wait for the opponent to come to him. Often wins very early in the rep. Has the ability to deal with counter moves showing good hand usage.

+ Has light, quick feet and hands at the point of attack in the run game. Can get to the second level defenders and is strong enough to dominate linebackers

+ Excellent on the move in pin/pull scheme, power and counter run plays. Good at locating second level defenders and making blocks out in space.

+ Extremely strong. Can handle the biggest and strongest of the defensive lineman, put a lot of good tape out there against Vita Vea (twice). Very helpful when playing next to an undersized center in Kelce.

Phew…

+ This is just a personal opinion but he seems to be one of those offensive lineman who manages to do ‘just enough’ even on reps where he struggles with technique or loses his balance. You rarely saw him get ‘badly’ beat.

Good example here, gets beat off the line of scrimmage by speed but still recovers and does enough.

+ Handled the variety in the Eagles run game well. The Eagles were had a very multiple run game this year with a lot of different concepts and he was able to handle it as a rookie.

+ Always has a fantastic reaction when the defense jumps early!

Weakness

– Injury history is obviously a concern but… lets not worry about that for now.

– Looks a little bit heavy footed on occasions. This is rare but sometimes looks slow to move his feet which mean he can get beat in pass protection.

– Can get caught out in pass protection when he relies on strength and leans into defenders. Smaller quicker lineman can catch him off balance.

– Just being honest, I watched a lot and didn’t see many clear weaknesses…

Overall

Dickerson played better than I thought on a second watch. I thought he had a pretty good rookie season after watching him throughout. After really focusing on him more, I thought he had a really, really good rookie season. He is an outstanding run blocker and is a pretty good pass blocker too. There aren’t many interior lineman in the league as good as him in the run game. He has an awesome combination of power, speed and nastiness.

As much as I have praised him, I do think it is fair to point out that this offense suited him perfectly as he is better as a run blocker then a pass blocker. The Eagles ran the ball a lot and didn’t have a lot of games where they dropped back 45+ times. If the offense changes in the future and becomes more of a drop back offense, he may have to improve his pass protection slightly to be considered one of the best at this position.

The Future…

Dickerson’s future could go a number of different ways depending on what happens with Jason Kelce. I really like Isaac Seumalo too and if he is fully healthy after his injury, he would be a very good guard or center next season. My personal preference would be to keep Dickerson at left guard to avoid him having to learn another position. It would be perfect if Kelce can come back next as I think continuity is important and it will good for Dickerson to play next to the same center and left tackle. I don’t think it’s a crazy statement to say that Dickerson has all-pro potential. He really could be one of the elite interior lineman.

Another reason I would keep Dickerson at left guard is that occasionally he would get caught out by quicker defensive lineman at the start of the rep, I would rather he didn’t have to worry about snapping the ball. Especially as he plays as a very aggressive offensive lineman who wants to get his hands on the defensive line as quickly as possible. I really do think he has the toughness and physical ability to be one of the top interior lineman very soon.

Milton Williams is up next week!