Philadelphia Eagles: An ideal re-draft of their 2019 class

Nothing changes at 22.

While Andre Dillard only started four games in his rookie season, there was nothing from his film that suggests that the 24-year-old can’t become a reliable starter at left tackle in the future. He’ll be limited to playing on the left side after the disastrous experiment at right tackle against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12. Outside of that game, he showed some promise.

Dillard’s first start came in Week 7 versus the Dallas Cowboys which was a night to forget for Eagles fans. Dillard was one of the lone bright spots. He took Pro-Bowl pass rusher Robert Quinn out of the game for the most part and did his job to give Carson Wentz a clean pocket. He performed well in the following weeks helping the Eagles get back-to-back wins versus the Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears.

As you might expect, there were some struggles. According to Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski, Dillard was the man to blame for six and a half sacks on just 183 pass-blocking snaps. Also, there was a lot of pressure that he allowed to get to Wentz.

While some of that materialized during his game at right tackle and when he was unexpectedly forced into action versus the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, no one should worry. He was, after all, matched up against some of the better pass rushers in the league.

The Vikings ranked fifth in the NFL in sacks and the Bills finished 12th overall in that department. Dallas’ trio of Quinn and DeMarcus Lawrence and Michael Bennett combined for 20.5 sacks in 2019.

Fortunately, all of this is fixable. With his six-foot-five, 315-pound frame, Dillard has the physical skills to compete. He just has to improve his technique, especially if he wants to avoid being bull-rushed. He could also improve as run blocker, but some time under offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland can help Dillard grow into a reliable left tackle.