4 NFL Draft darlings Eagles must remove from their board immediately

Eagles fans may want to temper their expectations for Nakobe Dean.

Understanding the excitement is easy to do, but we need everyone to calm down for a second. People tend to focus too much on what they’ve just seen. Keep in mind, a few weeks ago, people were really running around and acting as if Patrick Mahomes has forgotten how to play football.

We get it. The last time you saw Nakobe Dean was the first time many of you saw Nakobe Dean. Yes, he was phenomenal, and he was a wrecking ball during the College Football Playoff. He also had a great year overall, but some of you are giving him first-round grades.

We need you to stop. Here’s the truth serum.

Nakobe Dean probably translates to an outside linebacker at the professional level, and he may not have been the best linebacker on the Bulldogs roster. Take a look at Nolan Smith when you have a moment.

Don’t get us wrong. Dean is talented, but there are reasonable questions that need to be asked. How much of his success was attributable to a phenomenal Bulldogs offensive line? He’s superior at blitzing and a monster when traveling from sideline to sideline, but can he drop back into coverage and play the pass? Is it criminal to ask if he’s looking for that smoke in the running game?

Keep this in mind. The Tennessee Titans visit the Eagles this season. Are you comfortable with Dean taking Derrick Henry on in the hole 20 times or more?

In the words of Aaron Rodgers, R-E-L-A-X. There are NFL scouts who are unphased by his CFP performance, and they’ve actually gone so far as to give him mid-round grades.

It’s early, and guys will rise and fall in the draft process, but for now, we may need to take his name off of those draft boards and do some more research. Damone Clark (LSU), Christian Harris (Alabama), Brandon Smith, and Arnold Ebiketie (both from Penn State) are all probably better prospects at the position if the Birds are looking for a linebacker in Round 1 or Round 2.