Eagles' Fangio On Replacing Defensive Leaders: We’ll Get Guys That Will Step Up'

Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship brought skilled play to Philadelphia’s defense, their leadership may prove the more difficult piece of the puzzle to replace.

Nov 23, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) celebrates after an interception in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles lost two impactful defensive players in free agency this offseason. While Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship brought skilled play to Philadelphia’s defense, their leadership may prove the more difficult piece of the puzzle to replace.

You won’t find a bigger advocate for either player inside the Jefferson Health Training Complex than their former boss, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. From a talent standpoint, the Eagles could improve at linebacker with the uber-talented Jihaad Campbell. At safety, there’s still no clear-cut answer opposite Drew Mukuba, and Blankenship’s speed and man-coverage skills re not elite.

Campbell excelled as a rookie starter in the first seven games while Dean rehabbed a torn patellar tendon suffered in January 2025 against Green Bay. But once Dean was cleared, Fangio quickly returned to the veteran, citing his superior instincts, football IQ, and leadership skills.

With Blankenship, Fangio often referred to the Middle Tennessee State product as the “traffic cop” on the back end — the player responsible for aligning one of the league’s top secondaries in Fangio’s complex coverage schemes.

Eagles On SI asked the well-regarded defensive coordinator about losing two of his key off-field leaders ahead of next week’s start to on-field OTAs.

Used to Churn

Eagles DC Vic Fangio meets with reporters on May 9, 2024. | John McMullen/Eagled Today

“I think we’ll get guys that will step up,” Fangio said.

Losing players is simply part of the modern NFL, where roster turnover often exceeds 30% year to year.

The Eagles already played well without Dean, who is now in Las Vegas where former Eagles' personnel executive Brandon Hunt and Anthony Patch are now plying their trade, last season — though noticeably better once he returned.

“We played, I think, the first seven games last year without Nakobe,” Fangio said. “[LB] Zack [Baun] did a good job of filling that leadership void.”

Blankenship, who signed in Houston where Eagles faborite DeMeco Ryans is the head coach, presents a different challenge. He was an iron man who routinely played every defensive snap over the past three seasons when healthy.

His replacement won’t shoulder that same workload. Fangio has already said All-Pro slot corner Cooper DeJean will play safety in base personnel, with another player rotating in for nickel packages. Veteran Marcus Epps is the leading in-house candidate.

“Obviously, Reed did a good job as the quarterback of the secondary, especially with Andrew [Mukuba] there as a rookie,” Fangio said. “I think Andrew will be able to step up in that regard, and if Epps is the guy, he’ll definitely be able to do that as well.”