Over the next few weeks leading up to training camp, we’ll be counting down the top 25 most important Eagles for the 2023 season.
25. Nolan Smith
24. Quez Watkins
23. Kenny Gainwell
22. Marcus Mariota
21. Reed Blankenship
20. Brandon Graham
19. D'Andre Swift
18. Avonte Maddox
17. Cam Jurgens
16. Fletcher Cox
15. Landon Dickerson
Landon Dickerson played very well in 2022. Just don’t tell Landon Dickerson.
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In November of his first Pro Bowl season, I sat down with Dickerson to ask him about his play and the young guard was typically very critical of himself.
“The team’s doing well, obviously,” Dickerson said. “I’ve pretty much been awful. But just try to get better every practice, every game.”
I chuckled. He wasn’t joking.
“I don’t know how I’m still on the team, honestly,” Dickerson responded. “Being quite serious. I’ve had some very atrocious plays.”
NFL
His teammate and friend Jordan Mailata laughed it off. That’s just Dickerson being himself, Mailata explained. Dickerson is his very toughest critic.
To be clear, Dickerson was not atrocious last season. Sure, there were some ups and downs in his second NFL season but Dickerson started every game last year and was named to his first-career Pro Bowl. ProFootballFocus ranked Dickerson as the 15th-best guard in the NFL last season.
Now, on a line with Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Mailata and Isaac Seumalo that’s being coached by Jeff Stoutland, the standard is going to be extremely high. But Dickerson more than held his own in 2022.
According to PFF, Dickerson gave up just 1 sack, 3 QB hits and 17 hurries all season. To put that into perspective, Dickerson gave up 2 sacks, 8 hits and 23 hurries in 179 fewer pass blocking snaps as a rookie. So we saw some clear improvement from Dickerson year over year. And that’s not expected to stop anytime soon.
And at 6-foot-6, 332 pounds (that’s how they list him, at least), Dickerson is an intimidating force for the Eagles’ impressive run game. He’s a mauler.
One of the biggest questions about Dickerson when they drafted him was about whether or not his body would hold up in the NFL. He was clearly a first-round talent that dropped to the Eagles at No. 37 overall because he was coming off a torn ACL and because of his extensive injury history. In two seasons, Dickerson has now played 35 of 38 possible regular season and playoff games. He didn’t miss any in 2022.
While the Eagles are working to replace Seumalo this offseason — expect Cam Jurgens to get the first crack at the right guard spot — the other four positions on the offensive line remain intact. The Eagles put a ton of resources into their lines and it has been paying off. The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in football.
Sure, players like Kelce and Johnson are nearing the end of their careers, but Dickerson and Mailata have become best friends and are core building blocks for the future. And they expect to hold down the left side of the line for a very long time in Philadelphia.
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