Studying Landon Dickerson's Technique as a Blueprint for Guard Play
Most coaches and analysts talk about Landon Dickerson the way you'd talk about a reliable appliance. He's not flashy. He doesn't get highlight reels every week. But if you're actually trying to build an offensive line that works, there's a lot to pull from his film over the last three years in Philadelphia. I've spent years working with young offensive linemen and the one thing I see repeatedly is a obsession with combine measurables. Landon Dickerson wasn't a first-round pick on athletic testing alone. His process, though, is textbook. When you break down his footwork at the point of attack, you notice something most people miss: he rarely has more than two distinct steps before engagement. That's unusual for a guard. Most guys you see take three to four steps to get into their stance. Dickerson compresses that. It's because of how quickly he can drop into a three-point with his weight balanced rather than leaning forward. Here's where beginners get it wrong. They watch his pass blocking and think that's where he's most valuable. It's not. His run blocking is the thing that actually translates to winning games week after week. Watch his second-level moves. The way he plays off contact, keeps his hands inside, and finds a lane while moving laterally — that's something you can't really learn from a diagram. You have to see it frame by frame. I've had players try to replicate his kick-slide technique by just copying the foot speed. That doesn't work. The key is hip placement. Dickerson opens his hips earlier than most guards before the ball is snapped. You can see it on tape if you slow it down to 0.5x. His inside hip is already turning toward the play direction while the defensive tackle is still engaging his hands.
There's a specific problem I ran into when trying to coach this to a group of younger players. They all tried to open those hips too early and ended up getting bull-rushed through the hole because they committed their weight forward before the snap count. The workaround was simpler than anything in the coaching literature. I had them practice the hip rotation with a resistance band around their waist, anchored behind them. They had to fire the hips without shifting their center of gravity more than two inches forward. Took about three weeks of daily drills before it stuck. Once it clicked, their initial punch improved dramatically. If you're watching Dickerson for film study purposes, focus on these three situations. First, gap soundness in inside zone runs. He plays with a stability that makes it hard for defensive tackles to shift him off his point. Second, his handling of stunts and twists. He's small enough to slide across the pocket quickly but strong enough to hold his ground when the play collapses. Third, his communication on the interior line. He's constantly calling out blitzes and stunts. This isn't just noise. It's one of the reasons the Eagles' interior line has been so consistent. The limitations of using Dickerson as a model are worth noting. He struggles against elite power defensive ends who can flatten him at the point of attack. His frame isn't built for that kind of punishment over a full season. If you're a young guard trying to emulate him and you're dealing with bigger, stronger defensive linemen, you need to adjust. Add more hand work, keep your base wider, and don't try to match his hip rotation timing exactly. It won't translate to your body type.
I also want to mention a practical tip for anyone watching his film online. Most broadcast angles don't show you what matters. You need the All-22 tape or at minimum the tight end/camera angle. The standard sideline view will make his footwork look sloppy because of the perspective. The elevated All-22 angle shows the truth. Spend twenty minutes on one game with that view and you'll understand more about interior line play than watching a full season on regular broadcast tape. There's no download link or app for this. The information is in the film. The discipline is in the practice. Most people don't put in the hours to do either properly.
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