Eagles second-round pick Landon Dickerson is a native of Hickory, North Carolina, a city of about 40,000 people, or roughly 2.5% of Philadelphia.
So the guy's going to need a little bit to get adjusted to the big city life - and it sounds like the offensive lineman has already found out that Philly operates a little differently than Catawba County.
Dickerson appeared on The Farzy Show with Marc Farzetta on Tuesday morning to talk about rookie OTAs, his transition to the NFL, and his adjustment to living in in a new place.
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The affable 22-year-old said he knows a few things about Philly so far: the city loves its sports teams, the city loves Meek Mill... and the city's parking authority is ruthless:
"I've been told there's a lot to do. Big cities are new for me, so I'm not sure what all there is to do. I have driven downtown a little bit, already got a parking ticket, so uh - I'm trying to figure out how to park here, because it seems like people just park anywhere and everywhere."
C'mon now, PPA! Cut the kid some slack! He just got here!
I love that Dickerson's first story of a true Philadelphia experience was getting ticketed. The "which cheesesteak was your first?" is played out and impossible to ace; the "did you see the Liberty Bell yet?" is way too touristy. Dickerson arriving in Philly, trying to go do something fun, and immediately getting dinged by the PPA is just perfection.
NFL
I also like that Dickerson has clearly picked up the ethos of Philadelphia drivers: people just park anywhere and everywhere.
(Well, except where you parked, Landon. That's apparently where you'll get a ticket.)
On the field, Dickerson has already been impressing some of the Eagles' vets with his early work during OTAs, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro:
"'He's as advertised,' Jason Kelce said. 'He's a big, fun guy, loves the game of football. You can tell that right away. He loves talking about football. He's got a great personality. I think this kid's going to offer a lot to our room. He's big, he's physical, he's strong, he's smart. He's got all the tools. I'm excited to work with him and I'm just excited that he's here.'"
Between the personality and the real-deal football skills, I think Dickerson is going to be a fan favorite for a long time.
We're just 110 days from Week 1, folks.
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