The Eagles drafted Alabama center Landon Dickerson with the 37th pick in the NFL draft Friday, taking their second player from Tuscaloosa in as many days.
Dickerson is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season, but he was considered one of the most talented interior linemen in the draft. He doesn’t have a history of durability, suffering multiple major injuries in college, which hurt his draft stock.
He tore his right ACL as a freshman and suffered consecutive season-ending ankle injuries as a sophomore and junior. He finished his fourth year with a torn ACL, although it’s possible he’ll be ready for training camp. Once healthy, the Eagles will have a 6-foot-6, 325-pound interior lineman with positional flexibility and a track record of finishing blocks aggressively through the whistle.
Dickerson didn’t offer a timetable for his recovery from his most recent torn ACL, saying he’s taking it day to day.
“My recovery is right were I want it to be,” Dickerson said. “We don’t have an exact time frame. My ultimate goal is to be able to do whatever I can to make the team better no matter what stage I’m at. ... I want to be able to compete and be in practice by the start of the season, but obviously, you know, things may change. Right now, I’m right on schedule with where I want to be.”
Kelce, 33, has contemplated retirement in each of the last few seasons and isn’t likely to play more than another couple years. Dickerson, who outweighs Kelce by at least 40 pounds, has a much different playing style than the Eagles’ agile All-Pro center. The Eagles could move him to guard because of his size — he has experience playing both guard and tackle, first at Florida State and then Alabama.
Kelce, who was reached by text by The Inquirer, approved of the pick. Kelce also noted it remains to be seen whether Dickerson will actually become the Eagles’ next center once he retires.
“Big, strong, athletic, leader, tough, mean, what’s there not to love?” Kelce said. “I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard tons of great things from people who know him. (Dickerson being my) successor is tough to say. Whether he plays guard or center, whether (guard) Isaac (Seumalo) slides in, there’s some options. He’s played all of them, which adds to his value. Obviously, I’m going to assist in any way I can for the kid, whether it’s center or guard.”
It’s a difficult year to get complete medical evaluations for players because of the cancellation of the scouting combine. The league held a medical combine with roughly 150 players in Indianapolis earlier this month and Dickerson was likely among the players in attendance.
The Eagles have now taken two consecutive Alabama prospects after going almost two decades without taking a player from Alabama (although Jalen Hurts spent most of his college career with the Crimson Tide before transferring to Oklahoma as a senior). The team moved up two spots in Thursday night’s first round to get wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Both Smith and Dickerson played with Hurts in Tuscaloosa.
The Eagles still have a significant need at cornerback, but Roseman hinted that he wouldn’t be focused primarily on positional needs during this draft because it’s burned him in the past.
“I think because of how many picks we have over the next two years we really don’t want to get in a position — we’ve made some mistakes forcing picks and positions,” he said Thursday night. “So we’ve spent so much time on this draft and process and so much discussions about the players in this draft, that we’re not going to reach. We’re going to take the best guys. We know that if we get out of here — I don’t even know who is going. We may have to go back up and see who is still there, because obviously we’re picking high (Friday).
“We’re going to be sitting there tomorrow morning and know we’re going to get a really good player,” Roseman added. “Maybe it’s at a position that can come in right away and fill a need, but maybe it’s just a guy that we know is going to be part of the core of our team going forward as we climb the mountain again.”
The Eagles went into Friday night with the 37th and 70th picks. They used one of their extra third-round picks to secure the 10th pick Thursday night, taking Smith before the New York Giants could take him. The Eagles got the extra third, which was No. 84, from the Indianapolis Colts in the Carson Wentz trade.
Two picks after the Eagles got Dickerson, his teammate and Philadelphia native Christian Barmore (Neumann Goretti) was selected by the New England Patriots. The Alabama defensive tackle was the most valuable defensive player of the 2021 national championship game in January, logging five tackles and one sack against Ohio State.
