The Eagles revealed this offseason that they aren’t moving Landon Dickerson. Nor should they.
Because Dickerson and Jordan Mailata have created a near-impenetrable wall on the left side of the Eagles’ offensive line that will hopefully last for the next decade or so.
And they’ve become really good friends in the process.
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“We have a good bromance going on,” Mailata said last week.
Mailata and Dickerson obviously spent a lot of time together on the field and at the NovaCare Complex but they hang out a lot outside of the building too. Their friendship has become really strong. And it’s getting stronger.
They haven’t gotten sick of each other yet.
“If it’s not eating, we’re golfing. If it’s not golfing, it’s bowling,” Mailata said. “If it’s not bowling … shoot … I don’t know what else. If anybody has any suggestions of what we should do, let me know.”
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For the record, Mailata said, Dickerson is the much better golfer.
He's a pretty good football player too. Dickerson was a second-round pick last year out of Alabama but was a first-round talent who slipped because of injury concerns. He made it through Year 1 without major incident and ended up playing at a high level.
During the 2021 season, Dickerson got his first start at right guard in place of the injured Brandon Brooks but when Isaac Seumalo went down, Dickerson moved over to left guard and he’s not moving back. Mailata and Dickerson ended up starting 10 games, including the playoff game, next to each other on the left side of the line. That’s nearly 700 pounds on that side.
The Eagles could have decided to give Seumalo his old job back as the starting left guard and moved Dickerson in his second year back to the right side. But after watching Mailata and Dickerson together last year, the Eagles are making the wise choice.
It’s a combination for which Howie Roseman had some high praise during draft weekend. Roseman compared Mailata/Dickerson to what the Eagles once had with Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks on the right side.
“First of all, that’s a very high regard,” Mailata said. “Really honored that Howie said that. You guys see Landon and I and just our relationship we have on the field and off the field.”
It really does extend beyond the field. Johnson and Brooks became really close friends during their playing days together and it seems like Mailata and Dickerson are on that path too.
Mailata really thinks that helps them on the field for one key reason.
“The carryover is, I think, important,” Mailata said. “What you do off the field and building that brotherhood, brotherly love, off the field. If you can carry that on the field because you start to love that person as your brother. That’s how I see everyone in my locker room. I love them as a brother. And when I play for my family, it makes me want to push harder and faster. Like I said before, I just want to push that extra limit so I can get stuff done.”
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