When the Philadelphia Eagles placed Landon Dickerson on IR after a rough performance in Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, it created a question that Sean Mannion had to answer before of Week 2: Drew Kendall or Willie Lampkin?
On paper, there are merits to both, with Dickerson being more experienced while Lampkin presents the unique upside of being a 5-foot-10 bulldozer, but the choice will go a long way in defining the Eagles' success against the Tennessee Titans, who employ an All-Pro defensive tackle in Jeffery Simmons.
Discussing his confidence level in the Eagles' interior reserves on Tuesday, Mannion told reporters he's confident in calling either Kendall or Lampkin's number, as he âÂÂfeels goodâ about Philadelphia's ability to fill Dickerson's shoes in the short term.
âÂÂWe feel really confident with all of our guys. ItâÂÂs unfortunate with Landon, the guyâÂÂs a warrior, and weâÂÂve got to get him healthy,â Mannion said. âÂÂIn the meantime, we need guys to step up, but DrewâÂÂs had a really nice camp. [C/G] Willie [Lampkin]âÂÂs had a nice camp. Really, we have a lot of guys on our offensive line with a lot of position flexibility, versatility. We feel good about all of them. Obviously, Landon will be missed in the meantime, but we feel confident that guys are going to be able to step up and fill the void.âÂÂ
Asked if the Eagles might consider making a change at the center position too, moving Cam Jurgens to his original position of guard in order to place Lampkin or Kendall at their more natural spot on the line, Mannion didn't say yes, but didn't say no either, opting to keep Philly's plans close to the vest in order to keep the Titans guessing.
âÂÂWeâÂÂre going to keep that in-house in terms of what our plan is for this week, just for competitive reasons,â Mannion noted. âÂÂLike I said, we have a lot of guys up front that can play multiple spots. WeâÂÂve been training them at all spots, so gives us some flexibility there.âÂÂ
Could the Eagles shake things up in a major way in Week 2, with Kendall or Lampkin playing next to Tyler Steen instead of Jordan Mailata? That probably won't happen, but considering how poorly Dickerson played in Week 1, inserting either player into the starting lineup, regardless of the position, should improve the rushing game on a snap-to-snap basis.

