Eagles rookie Nakobe Dean may see some added responsibility early

At the risk of getting too far ahead of ourselves, something must be stated before we go any further. It’s easy to understand how injuries can scare teams and prevent them from rolling the dice on someone during the NFL Draft. Still, even with that being said, if you would have wagered that Nakobe Dean would have been a third-round draft choice by the Philadelphia Eagles during the days leading up to the most recent version of pro football’s annual selection meeting, you would have won a ton of bets.

You do realize that the NFL doesn’t invite prospects to show up on opening night because they believe those guys will still be sitting in the green room on Day 2 right?

Dean’s Round 1 draft-night experience, shall we say, left much to be desired. He’s never told us this, but we’d assume that nothing else could be factual. Opening night came and went, and no one scribbled his name on a draft card. Round 2 came and went… crickets. It wasn’t until Round 3 that Birds fans saw their team land the guy that many would taken in Roud 1 had they had the power to do so.

Pick 83 arrived. Philly was on the clock. Nakobe Dean was the selection. Forget the rumors about a pectoral injury. Forget everything you think you know. Last season, when Philly landed Kenneth Gainwell in Round 5, the word ‘steal’ got tossed around. Inside The Iggles echoed those theories. Fast forward to the present, and people are calling Dean a steal too. We’ll also agree with that, but here’s the thing.

As confident as we were in our expectations for Kenny G, we’re more excited about Nakobe’s chances of making an immediate impact, and you should be too. Here’s a bold prediction, Dean is going to bring back memories of the Ax Man, Jeremiah Trotter though some have even gone so far as to compare him to Jordan Hicks.

We know he hasn’t played a down yet, and even with that being said, somehow, we have no qualms about making that type of statement.

Expect some lofty contributions from Nakobe Dean in year one with the Eagles (and maybe some added responsibility).

In a recent take by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine on 2022 NFL Rookies who already look like draft-day steals, Nakobe Dean got a nice mention, along with Romeo Doubs (Green Bay Packers), Braxton Jones (Chicago Bears), Jack Jones (New England Patriots), Isaiah Likely (Baltimore Ravens), and Desmond Ridder (Atlanta Falcons). That’s a nice-looking list.

In his pre-draft profile of the former Georgia Bulldogs standout, NFL.com’s Lance Zeirlein gave him a grade of 6.40, meaning he’ll be a good start within two years of entering the league. His NFL comp is Devin Bush, a member of the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team in 2019.

We respectfully disagree with Zierlein. It isn’t going to take two years. Since his selection, Nakobe Dean’s name has been thrown in conversations that include phrases like ‘Pro Bowl’ and ‘Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate’.

Again, Dean hasn’t played one snap in the NFL yet, but his defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, is pumped. Take a look as he recently broke down some film of Dean and Jordan Davis:

Word coming out of the respected Eagles circles (and the rumor mills) is that much is expected of the rookie, and it’s expected early. He’s learned both the Mike and Will positions (the middle linebacker and weakside linebacker positions). He may also earn some added responsibility.

Trusted voices like NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank believe Nakobe Dean could be tasked with being the Eagles’ quarterback on defense. Frank believes he has a legitimate shot at wearing the green dot on his helmet, meaning J.G. would be able to communicate with the rookie directly while trusting him to relay defensive play calls and signals to his teammates.

That’s normally the responsibility of a more experienced veteran, but the 2021 College Football Playoff National Champion, Butkus Award Winner, and Unanimous All-American has wowed his coaches at every turn.

This is going to work out very well. Despite DeVonta Smith’s success in 2021, believe it or not, questions have been asked about whether or not the Birds should have gone with last year’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year/NFL All-Pro/Pro Bowler Micah Parsons. Let’s ease those concerns though.

Parsons is a monster, but Smith was the best pick for this team. The same can be said for Nakobe Dean. We expect him to be Philadelphia’s equalizer for Parsons. You don’t have to agree. We’d respect you if you didn’t, but come this time next offseason, we expect everyone else to be saying the same thing.