Nakobe Dean hopes to gain the trust of his third coordinator in as many seasons

Football is a business. We understand that. We have no problem with that, but the Philadelphia Eagles fan living in us has a bit of Howie Roseman in him. Remember when Howie used to emotionally overpay for players? Truthfully, we bashed him at the time, but we get where he was coming from now )in some instances)

That's probably why we write about football rather than hang around the front office as general managers.

Maybe we're getting softer as we age. Maybe we aren't as hardened as some of you are. Our heart goes out to Nakobe Dean. He enters year three of his NFL life, and we seemingly know less about him than we did when he arrived.

Dean was invited to Caesars Forum Paradise, Nevada as part of a group of young men who were expected to be first-round selections. We'll never forget it. He wore this pink suit. Who knows... Maybe it was peach.

That's not the point. The point is this. He wasn't taken in Round 1. He slid to Round three, and Philly selected him 83rd overall. There was this discussion about what some thought was an injury he was hiding.

That placed a chip on Dean's shoulder. That chip must be the size of a boulder now because here we are. Three years in, and the former Georgia star's career doesn't seem to be gaining any consistent traction.

It's year three, and Nakobe Dean is still trying to prove himself, this time to new Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Something dawned on us the other day. We imagine we have considered this before, but it took root after the open Eagles practice at Lincoln Financial Field. It's year three of Nakobe Dean's young NFL career, and he is attempting to win the trust of his third defensive coordinator in as many seasons.

Think about that for a second. Are you aware of how taxing that can be for a young star still trying to find his way?

As a rookie, he played primarily on special teams. Jonathan Gannon was fortunate enough to have some guys ready to start on the depth chart ahead of him. In year two, there was the Sean Desai/Matt Patricia debacle. Nakobe was supposed to assume a starting role, but he only appeared in five games with four starts because of two trips to the injured reserve.

Fast forward to the present. Here we are. Year three of the Dean era arrived in a hurry.

The new defensive coordinator is Vic Fangio. We're certain you already know that. What you may not know is he spoke with the Philly media recently. Yes, friends... Nakobe's name found its way into the conversation.

“I thought Nakobe had, the first few days of practice, I thought he played really, really good. And, (he) took a step back a little bit in the stadium practice. Overall, he’s been doing really good." Those were the words of Philly's DC this past Monday.

Through eight practices, we have learned a lot. Dean excels when playing downhill and versus the run. That's the good news. The bad news is he often looks lost in coverage.

We're on record, stating recently that we still believe the former Dawg will turn the corner in 2024. He will do nice things this season... we hope. He may, however, have to do so in a reserve role.

He's behind Devin White and Zack Baun on the Eagles' depth chart (and, Jeremiah Trotter has recently earned some reps with the first-team defense).

None of that may mean anything. Then again, all of that may mean more than we're believing at the moment. Dean, again, has to earn the trust of the third D-coordinator he has played under in as many seasons. Don't give up on the young man yet, but oportunities vanish quickly in the NFL. Let's hope Nakobe makes the most of his during the coming NFL season.

Check out Vic Fangio's full presser below (and subscribe to the YouTube channel).

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