Like riding a bike: Landon Dickerson ready to play center if needed

Several years ago, seemingly in a past life, Landon Dickerson was a center in college. A really good center.

The Eagles might need him to turn back the clock on Sunday afternoon.

While it’s clear the Eagles are holding out hope that starting center Cam Jurgens (back) will be able to play in the NFC Championship Game against the Commanders on Sunday afternoon, they have also started preparing for the possibility that he won’t after he missed another practice. Dickerson on Thursday took his place.

“Right now, it’s just Thursday practice, getting Cam some rest,” Dickerson said. “That’s just kind of the way it falls with rotation. I’m the backup center so serve there for practice and make sure that he’s feeling good for Sunday.”

But if Jurgens can’t play on Sunday, Dickerson would slide from left guard to center and start at a different position.

Is he ready for that?

“It’s like riding a bike,” Dickerson said. “You go in, get a few snaps, knock the rust off and then you’re usually good to go.”

Even though Jurgens didn’t practice on Thursday after being listed as a “DNP” on Wednesday to start the week, the Eagles are still hoping their Pro Bowl center will be able to play on Sunday.

Both Dickerson and Jordan Mailata suggested they expect Jurgens to play. But missing a Thursday practice definitely puts his availability in jeopardy.

“I mean, I do (expect Jurgens to play) but I’m not a medical guy,” Dickerson said. “I don’t know exactly what … ask (Nick) Sirianni or trainers. I don’t know exactly. But as far as I’m concerned, I think he is.”

If Jurgens is able to play, great. But if he’s unable to go, then Dickerson would slide from left guard to center and would be replaced at left guard by Tyler Steen. Steen, the former third-round pick, has been the top backup interior offensive lineman all season.

Steen lost the starting right guard job to Mekhi Becton in training camp but has played well when called upon this season.

“I think Tyler’s ready to go,” Dickerson said. “Y’all have seen him serve us a lot in game, a lot last year, a lot this year. I think he’s a great player. Every time he goes in, we don’t really miss a beat.”

Without Jurgens, this is what the Eagles’ starting offensive line would look like (from left to right) on Sunday: Jordan Mailata, Tyler Steen, Landon Dickerson, Mekhi Becton, Lane Johnson

During the season, Dickerson doesn’t get any practice reps at center but has been the backup at that position on game days. During his NFL career, the overwhelming majority of Dickerson’s snaps have come at left guard. Here’s the breakdown from ProFootballFocus:

Left guard: 4,306

Right guard: 91

Center: 42

This season, Dickerson’s only seven snaps at center came in Week 4 against the Buccaneers when Jurgens began to cramp in the Florida heat.

“I’d be pretty ready for it,” Dickerson said. “It’s happened. Usually I don’t get a heads up. It’s just kind of one play in Tampa Bay or even the Giants game a couple years ago. At least I get kind of a heads up to go warm up and get my footwork and stuff down.”

In his first season as the Eagles’ starting center, Jurgens did a fantastic job replacing the legendary Jason Kelce. He started every game this season except Week 18 and played the most offensive snaps (1,068) of any player on the team.

The good news is that Dickerson does have extensive experience playing center. He played all five spots during his college career but as a senior at Alabama in 2020, Dickerson was a unanimous first-team All-American center and won the Rimington Trophy as the best center in college football. 

Veteran Lane Johnson can tell that Dickerson played center before and compared him to an orchestra conductor.

“He’s very loud,” Johnson said. “He’s a very big man. He can hold that space pretty well. It’s different for him, obviously, playing left guard and going to center so the set lines are different, the communication is a little bit different. When you’re that big and you’re the strongest guy in the county, you can kind of do whatever you want.”

During walkthrough on Wednesday and practice on Thursday, Dickerson has taken control from the center position.

Mailata noted that Dickerson has been loud and communicative, making sure the line is on the same page. It’s not ideal to need an offensive line shuffle this deep into the playoffs but the Eagles feel as ready for it as they can be thanks to O-line coach Jeff Stoutland.

“Very confident,” Mailata said. “Landon was a center for part of his life. Pretty confident in him if his number is called. But we’ve got faith in Cam coming back. For now, it is what it is. Stout does a great job of preparing us every week and preparing different players at different positions for these types of things.”

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