There is a ton of obvious risk with the Eagles’ second-round pick Landon Dickerson, who suffered four serious injuries during his college career.
With that risk, comes the potential of a huge reward.
Sure, you can argue that the Eagles shouldn’t be gambling like this with the No. 37 pick in the draft — and it’s a valid argument — but it’s pretty clear how excited the Eagles are to land Dickerson.
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On with Angelo Cataldi on 94WIP Tuesday morning, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman gushed over Dickerson.
“Landon Dickerson is a difference maker,” Roseman said. “He’s a difference maker as a player, he’s a difference maker as a person. If you’re going to bet on a guy, he’s the kind of guy you bet on. When we watched Landon Dickerson, we were going, ‘This guy’s mentality reminds you of Jon Runyan.’
“That’s what he is. He is that kind of enforcer that you have on your football team and he is such a good player. This guy as we go forward and we try to get back to that championship level and we try to climb the mountain, this is a guy you want on your side. He wants to put people into the ground. He wants to bury guys. He’s athlete, this guy is a really, really good player. And you never have a chance to get a guy like this unless there are some questions. We know it’s a risk but we think it’s a risk worth taking.”
That comparison to Runyan is a fun one. Runyan joined the Eagles in 2000 and held down the right tackle spot for nearly a decade, playing every game in nine seasons. Like Runyan, Dickerson definitely has a touch of nastiness to his game.
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Roseman on Tuesday pointed out that Dickerson created a makeshift gym at his home in Tuscaloosa for himself and his teammates during quarantine times. Roseman used that as an example of Dickerson’s leadership. Dickerson is one of six players the Eagles drafted this year who was a captain at his college.
“This guy is an unbelievable leader and an unbelievable player,” Roseman said.
Of course, no one is questioning whether or not Dickerson is a good player or leader. The big question is about whether or not he’ll be able to stay healthy after suffering two ACL tears and two ankle injuries during his five-year college career.
One thing that vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl has continued to praise is Dickerson’s ability to overcome adversity and return from those injuries. I guess that’s a good and bad thing. He’s shown ability to get over past injuries, which is good because he’s coming off an ACL tear now. But that history of injuries is scary, even though he still managed to start 37 games in his time at Florida State and Alabama.
For what it’s worth, Roseman said he fully trusts the Eagles’ medical staff, which gave the green light for them to draft him.
“We have great people there,” Roseman said. “I really believe that. Injuries are a part of the game, there’s no doubt about it. But I think that you’re going to see going forward that these people are really good at their jobs and we did our due diligence on this guy. I think you guys are going to love Landon Dickerson. Not just like him … love Landon Dickerson.”
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