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The Eagles will enter the 2020 NFL Season without their 2019 first-round draft pick this season.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo confirmed a Derrick Gunn report of a biceps injury to Andre Dillard would be season ending.
You have to feel bad for the kid. He spent all last season learning under a Hall of Fame-caliber left tackle in Jason Peters, under the impression he would be given the reigns the following year. And yes, while everything went according to plan the team did bring back Peters once Brandon Brooks went down with an Achilles injury – but as a guard, not a tackle. Dillard was still penciled in as the starting left tackle.
None of that matters now. What matters is the Eagles have a hole on the offensive line and they’re lucky to have a player who knows the system well to step in. With Dillard on the sidelines, Peters should easily slide back into the left tackle spot for a number of reasons. Here they are:
- It makes more sense to replace one position than two. Think about it – Peters was learning an entirely new position. If the Eagles were to move forward with him as a right guard, they would in theory be replacing two starters in Dillard and Brooks. Put Peters back at left tackle then you’re only replacing one position with a player with little to no experience at said position.
- Peters has chemistry with Isaac Seumalo. The latter was hand-chosen by Peters during the 2018 season to start at guard after Stefen Wisniewski was benched. This goes hand in hand with reason number one – if Jordan Mailata becomes the starting left tackle he and Seumalo would have a lot to work through while Peters and Seumalo have a healthy rapport.
- Speaking of Mailata – he’s never played in a regular-season NFL game. If he were to step in as starting left tackle it would be a total wildcard. Way too risky when Peters is there, ready to step in.
As of yesterday morning, the offensive line depth chart read: Dillard – Seumalo – Jason Kelce – Peters – Lane Johnson with Mailata, Matt Pryor, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll, and Prince Tega-Wanogho as the back-ups. Now, with 16 days until the first game, there will be a battle for the starting right guard spot. Will Pryor, the elder statesman of the bunch, hold off the rookie Driscoll? Could Herbig beat them both out? This will be an interesting storyline to follow as camp progresses over the next week-or-so.
At the end of the day, losing Dillard for the year is a blow to the offensive line. There’s no doubting that. With that said, it isn’t quite the end of the world as Peters showed last year he still had some fuel in the tank. Mix that with offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s ability to coach up his players, I think the trenches will be more than fine for the year. Next year? That’s a story for another time.
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