The Philadelphia Eagles have lost starting left tackle Andre Dillard for the 2020 NFL season to a bicep injury. And now?
1 – The Eagles’ starting offensive line could actually be improved
Jason Peters is believed to return to left tackle now that Dillard is injured. Matt Pryor is the favorite to succeed Peters at right guard. There’s reason to believe the Eagles’ offensive line is better with these two players at these spots than it was with Dillard at left tackle and Peters at right guard.
Dillard didn’t have a great camp. I wouldn’t say he had a horrible summer, but he certainly didn’t do much to erase the doubts about him. I mean, getting ass fucked in Carson Wentz’s legs by former undrafted rookie free agent Joe Ostman was a pretty tough look for the 2019 first-round pick.
While Dillard has not proven himself, Peters is a future Hall of Famer who has just emerged from a season in which he ranked highly by Pro Football Focus standards. PFF had Peters as the sixth highest-rated tackle in 2019. He will likely be better at left tackle in 2020 than Dillard would have been.
As for Pryor, he showed promise at the end of 2019 and had a good training camp. Pryor thinks he’s a more natural adjustment to the right guard than relying on Peters to move to the other side of the offensive line so late in his career. Former Eagles All-Pro tackle Tra Thomas previously told BGN why he was optimistic about Pryor’s prospects:
When I watch these two matches [he played last season], although it’s a very small amount of film about him, I thought he did a hell of a job in those two games. At first, when I watched it live, I was really not at all impressed. But when I sat down and really went through the movie and looked at each shot and recorded and looked at what his responsibilities were and what he was doing, I thought he was doing a hell of a job. When he came in there was no big drop. A lot of people are like, well, Brandon Brooks fell, there was a big drop when Matt Pryor came in. I mean, he came over there and did a really good job. When it came to blocking the run, he was able to create movement. Arrived at his linebacker, whatever the reading he had to manage. As far as protection goes, he did a really good job taking the right set depending on where that defensive tackle was. And he did a good job delivering his hands up. I thought Matt Pryor was extremely physical, he played a tough game. My only criticism for Matt Pryor is finishing each piece. To just go out there and just be mean and crush a spade in the ground. But I thought he had come there and held on and did a really good job. Especially when he came in after half-time against Seattle [in Week 12]. I think he did a hell of a job. And then he goes over there against New York [in Week 17] and then he showed that – I know they didn’t have to worry that much, because of what’s going on with the stadium, you don’t know what’s going on with the fans – but he got in and manage the silent account. ‘Cause that right guard, when you’re on the road he’s the guy who has to handle the silent count and has to look back [Carson] Wentz and all that, hit the center and now it’s usually the one that needs to block on the fly. I think he did a hell of a job. And I will know him and I just hit him [after the Peters re-signing] and was like ‘Hey, man, stay focused.’ Because that’s all you can do. I hope JP succeeds, but I want Matt Pryor to stay focused and know he’s ready to go. Because they might need him.
It’s usually hard to find silver liners in late season injuries and obviously no one should be celebrating Dillard’s pain. But the Eagles’ starting offensive line for 2020 is arguably better without him.
2 – There are serious concerns about the depth
The starting offensive line could be better, but the Eagles’ depth is unmistakably worse with Dillard out.
What happens when Peters gets fucked hard? And I say “when” and not “if” because we all know it inevitably is. Peters has only missed three games in the past two seasons, yes, but those numbers clearly don’t tell the whole story. We all know it often happens that Peters – who turns 39 in January – will start a game but will have to miss a number of games. Here’s a look at how many Peters shots have been taken over the past two years:
2018 – 79.49%
2019 – 74.91%
Peters will run out of playing time at some point. And we really don’t know who will replace him.
If training camp practice is any indication, Jordan Mailata is the current favorite to be Peters’ replacement. The Aussie sensation is a fun guy to cheer on, no doubt, but he’s a guy who didn’t even play a real football game in his life until August 2018. He only played during the preseason and he’s finished his first two NFL games. seasons on the reserve injured due to back injuries. Not to mention, Mailata didn’t look too good at camp this year, regularly getting wrecked by the aforementioned Ostman. It’s hard to believe the Eagles could really rely on Mailata to play meaningful snaps for an extended period.
The only other Eagles tackle to take reps from the left side is rookie Prince Tega Wanogho. PTW has shown some signs of promise but I don’t know if the 22-year-old rookie is really up to playing a lot. He mainly worked with the third team of the camp. PTW is a late player in football and looks more like a development option.
The Eagles could potentially move Jack Driscoll to the left side. The rookie’s vast experience, however, is to the right.
Maybe the Eagles need to get creative and adjust the offensive line to where Pryor moves to the left tackle. Or Lane Johnson. And then they bring in Nate Herbig to play the right guard. This might be their best lineup, but it’s also far from ideal when changing from multiple locations.
The Eagles might just have to sign or trade for a veteran to jump into the mix. The options will not be many, but they could still be an upgrade from the current situation, which is not even clear.
3 – There are long term issues here
The Eagles will enter 2021 still unsure whether Dillard is their left tackle of the future. They can hope he is. But they just can’t know for sure.
Dillard has shown promise as a rookie. He also struggled more than he excelled, however.
From PFF:
Dillard was limited to standby work when Jason Peters or Lane Johnson was pulled over due to injury, and that was a good thing for Carson Wentz based on his scoring. It allowed a 14.7% pressure rate, higher than any other tackle in the NFL.
From Football Outsiders:
Dillard blew 7.8% of his combined passing and point blocks, the worst rate among offensive linemen with 300 or more shots.
Based on everything I’ve heard, the Eagles weren’t without doubts about Dillard’s prospects heading into this season. My BGN Radio co-host Jimmy Kempski went so far as to say that the Eagles have “major concerns” about Dillard. Derrick Gunn reported that Dillard had been “suspended as possible commercial bait, to a few teams, and on a few occasions the information came back,” Not interested at this point.
2020 would have been a great opportunity for Dillard to silence his skeptics. He could have established himself as the Eagles’ next big left tackle, following in the footsteps of Peters and Thomas.
Alternatively, Dillard could have struggled and the Eagles would have known they had to seriously start pivoting to a new plane.
Instead, the Eagles are hoping Dillard can come back and be the guy in 2021. They may need to invest in a contingency plan. Maybe Peters is coming back for more another year if he plays well this season? Hey JP said he wanted to play in his 40s.
4 – Eagles’ 2020 season could be in jeopardy
Really not trying to pass yourself off as an alarmist. Like I said above, the Eagles’ offensive line may play better without Dillard!
But it’s hard not to worry about what happens when Peters gets injured. Not to mention the additional offensive line injuries. On that note, Lane Johnson missed five straight practices. As such, it was the Eagles’ first offensive line in practice Thursday:
Left tackle – Jordan Mailata
Left Guard – Isaac Seumalo
Center – Jason Kelce
Right Guard – Nate Herbig
Right tackle – Matt Pryor
It’s just not very inspiring.
The Eagles are built to win through the trenches. They won Super Bowl LII largely because of their strength up front. The offensive line has also been a big factor behind three straight seasons with playoff appearances.
While we may think the Eagles look weak at a position as a linebacker, it just won’t be a place that sinks all season. Offensive line struggles, meanwhile, could do just that. There is a risk of catastrophe in not adequately protecting Wentz.
Concerns from the Eagles offensive line are frustrating to think about in the context of potential improvements to the wide receiver. Young pass catchers look good in camp, but that might not matter much if Wentz doesn’t have time to pitch them.
Remarkable resilience has been a defining characteristic of the Doug Pederson era, so I’m not saying it’s time to give up on the 2020 season. But there is some serious concern.
