Nakobe Dean Taking Baton as Eagles Defensive Leader: 'I'm Ready!'
PHILADELPHIA - There was no ceremony or official confirmation but to those who understand how the Philadelphia Eagles do business, Nakobe Dean's presence in front of reporters Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex was a clear signal.
The Eagles are still a few days away from their first full OTA practice but the media session was a seminal moment for the second-year linebacker. By being tabbed the organization was essentially validating Dean as the starting Mike linebacker and the green dot for new defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
That's quite the ramp-up from a rookie season in which the 2021 Butkus Award winner played only 34 defensive snaps behind veterans T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White.
Dean felt ready to play last season after leading Georgia to a national championship as the top playmaker on college football's best defense but also understood the landscape with Edwards and White playing well and staying healthy.
"We was rolling as a team and the main thing is winning games," Dean said. "Over everything is to win games and win championships so sitting back and playing my role and doing whatever I could do to make this team better was my main focus"
That meant interning on special teams and covering kicks and punts while waiting for the occasional trickle of playing time on defense.
Things needed to shift a bit for the Eagles after the Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City with a host of free agents hitting the market coming off career seasons.
Edwards got a big-money deal to go home to Chicago and White followed former defensive coordinator Johnathan Gannon out to Arizona. The Eagles felt a little more comfortable in that outcome at the linebacker position because Dean was waiting to take the baton.
“It shows that they are ready for me to step up, and I feel like I’m ready to step up,” Dean said. “I’ve been ready, but it’s time to actually do it now, and it’s time for me to put out whatever I can do for this team to ultimately win.
"I’m ready to do it.”
Last season, Dean finished with 13 tackles and a tackle for loss in his limited playing time, showing the top-tier instincts that were a staple of his game with the Bulldogs.
He and the defense have quite the standard to live up to after the Philadelphia defense finished No. 2 in the NFL last season and No. 1 against the pass. The foundation to accomplishing that starts in the spring.
“One thing that a high school coach told me was that you’re only getting better or you’re getting worse,” Dean said. “There is no staying the same. Since the Super Bowl, I haven’t done anything but work to get better. I feel like I’m a better player in all aspects of my game.”
Helping the continuity will be the fact that two of Dean's college teammates -- defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter -- will be tasked with keeping blockers off Dean, who is a bit undersized at 5-11 and 225 pounds.
“Knowing them guys upfront is definitely a key to being a good linebacker and knowing what they’re doing,” Dean said. “It’s not just Jalen and Jordan, but it’s also Fletch [Fletcher Cox], BG [Brandon Graham], and all of those guys up front that is going to be attacking the ball, holding up blocks, getting blocked, and everything like that.
"Knowing who is in front of you and knowing who you are playing helps. That just doesn’t go for the guys up front. It goes for the other linebacker playing next to me and the guys on the backend.”
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
