Through two weeks of preseason football, the 22nd overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft hasn’t just been really impressive, he’s been flat out dominant. Pro Football Focus has Dillard ranked as the best offensive lineman (not just tackle) with an elite grade of 89 in pass protection and 84.8 run blocking. Oh and the second best is not close (Michael Deiter with 80.1 overall).
Now, it is “just” preseason, but in his first two games Dillard has faced veterans like Kamalei Correa and Sharif Finch vs the Titans, and newer guys like 2019 7th overall pick Josh Allen and 2018 29th overall in pick Taven Bryan.
In 70 snaps, Dillard has allowed 0 sacks, 0 hits, 0 hurries, and 0 pressures.
Pro Football Focus
Film doesn’t lie, Dillard does everything
After breaking down the film from games against Jax and Titans, I came away with the following takeaways (see film below):
- Explosive, snap-fast pass set. Good understanding of when to set up deep (when DE is lined up wide e.g. wide-9) or narrow (when DE lined up close e.g. 5 technique)
- Active, violent hands. Keeps hand placement through contact.
- Constantly moves his feet: In pass pro, reacts nicely to moves of defender, in run sets up hands and balance before driving, minimizing risk of missing the block.
- Establishes contact with dropped hips, withstanding force in bullrush moves well.
- Gets a solid push. Can move the line on run downs.
- Seals off defenders in angles that are absurd for a rookie.
College stats are translating
Dillard had an impressive resume coming out of Washington State, and during a span of two years he allowed 3 sacks in… hold on… 1,510 pass-blocking snaps! Of those numbers, 722 snaps were in 2018, in which he gave up ONE sack, three hurries, and 11 hurries. That means he kept his QB completely clean on 98 % of all blocking snaps.
However, Dillard wasn’t asked to block much at Washington State, having only played 456 run blocking snaps, which accounts for 23.2 % of all snaps played. This left some scouts concerned with his ability to do so, although this doesn’t concern OL coach Jeff Stoutland:
Eagles Offensive Line Coach, Jeff Stoutlan
“I’m not buying all this stuff about ‘he (Andre Dillard) can’t be a good run blocker… I think he’s going to be a fabulous run blocker.”
So far, Stoutland has done a terrific job with Dillard. Having mentor and role model in future HOF LT Jason Peters help as well.
