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A very Merry Draftmas to you!
We continue our tradition of profiling an NFL Draft prospect every day in April, leading up to the NFL Draft on April 29th. Every day, you’ll get a prospect profile that includes how they would fit with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs have made a sizeable investment in the interior of their offensive line with new additions like Joe Thuney, Kyle Long and Austin Blythe. That may not necessarily keep them from adding another long-term solution to the position — Blythe, Long and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif are not under contract past this season.
Here’s a center that would be an interesting addition to the Chiefs — both in the short and long term:
Landon Dickerson, center
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6’6” | 325 lbs | Alabama
Hudson, NC
Expected draft range: Day two
One-sentence bio: Senior Bowl participant who started career at Florida State before transferring to Alabama — sustaining season-ending injuries at both schools.
One-sentence scouting report: Big, physical, “dirty-tough” interior offensive lineman with outstanding upper body and grip strength.
One clip:
Landon Dickerson | IOL | #69
— Matt Lane (@ChiefinCarolina) February 18, 2021
+ Lateral explosion to reach and flip hips around blockers
+ Constant looking to help in pass pro
+ High IQ - calls protections and IDs blitzes and stunts great
+ Strong combo to redirect --> climb --> frame in space
+ Aggressive finisher on all lvls pic.twitter.com/zwoaL3GtTE
How he fits in Kansas City: Everything about Dickerson fits in Kansas City. He’s a strong player at the point of attack with enough movement skills to work in space and at the second level. He’d be a welcome addition as a pass protector for Patrick Mahomes. His personality should fit in well — he was beloved at Alabama. There’s only one big question about his projection to the next level: his health. Dickerson is the kind of player you talk about snapping the ball to Mahomes for the next decade, but he hasn’t shown an ability to stay healthy; he has experienced multiple season-ending injuries in his college career. The evaluations of his medicals — not the film — will be the big question mark for him. He’s a Day One starter on tape and a major improvement to the middle of the offensive line — a significant upgrade over Blythe and likely a top-10 center in the NFL if he can stay healthy. Nothing would surprise me about where Dickerson goes this draft — the medical evaluations will determine it all. Left tackle is still the biggest need on this team, but Dickerson early would not disappoint. That means the team is confident in the medical checks and willing to invest in a stable presence to play next to Thuney and present a dominant force along their interior for years to come.
KC Draft Guide
The 2021 version of the KC Draft Guide is now available!
It provides a one-stop shop that shows how the top college prospects fit with your Kansas City Chiefs. This digital download includes detailed analysis and profiles for hundreds of prospects, player comps, scheme-fit analysis, a Chiefs draft pick trade chart, features, a mock draft and more!