Roseman raves about Landon Dickerson, compares him to Eagles great

 

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.

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.

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.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/howie-roseman-landon-dickerson-jon-runyan-eagles-draft-alabama

 

55 minutes ago, time2rock said:

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

We're going to see that the medical team who have resided over season after season riddled with injuries got this one right? I mean sure there's a chance but I don't trust this medical team. They passed on Metcalf didn't they?

How many games will this kid be healthy enough to play in his career?  I'd like to hope for the best, but his injury history is the worst i've ever seen for a high pick.  Can he make it though one 17 games season?  Such a risk for the 37th pick in the draft, but that's Howie.  Hopefully they wait to play him until he's healthy.  He should sit out next season really

Ability = 9 out of 10

Durability = 2 out of 10.

We'll see.

Quote

Roseman raves about Landon Dickerson

Means he better start planning for life after football, if he hasn't already.

Can’t wait.  On either side, if at G, he has a big strong T next to him.  We are going to maul people like we used to leading up to the SB.

I would have no problem red shirting Dickerson this year and give those old wounds time to heal while getting acclimated to being a pro.  Worked pretty well for Embiid.

3 hours ago, Procus said:

I would have no problem red shirting Dickerson this year and give those old wounds time to heal while getting acclimated to being a pro.  Worked pretty well for Embiid.

But I don't think recovery is necessarily the issue. He recovers and then gets hurt again but usually a different muscle or different injury.

5 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

But I don't think recovery is necessarily the issue. He recovers and then gets hurt again but usually a different muscle or different injury.

I don't see anything in his medical history indicating any muscle injuries ... they seem to be all related to ligament injuries (albeit different ligaments):

• 2016 - right knee ACL
• 2017 - right ankle
• 2018 - left ankle
• 2020 - left knee ACL

Anyway, there is no way to be able to look past such a significant injury history.  I hope he proves us all wrong but those of us who have major concerns about his ability to stay healthy are likely going to end up being proven right.