NFL Draft: Philadelphia Eagles Stop Slide of Nakobe Dean

After a much longer than anticipated wait, Nakobe Dean comes off the board. Why did he wait so long? Read below.

Nakobe Dean was the highest-rated Linebacker in this class by many. A combination of instincts, speed, and intangibles, Dean was the heart and soul of the National Championship Georgia team. The signal-caller and leader for the Bulldogs, Dean may have had to wait but the Eagles are more than ideal for his playstyle. 

There were rumors before the draft that Dean had an injury that was dropping him down, boards. That was then confirmed by Austin Gayle of PFF who said that Dean declined a shoulder surgery and was being viewed as a major red flag by multiple NFL teams. 

While his availability may be up in the air for 2022, even if he has to "redshirt" a healthy Nakobe Dean in 2023 will be a force. When you add to the fact that he and Jordan Davis will be teammates again, you can see why this pick makes even more sense. 

"As far as me being with the Eagles, I feel like we can do great things together," Dean said during a video teleconference with reporters. "Great things as a whole organization, me as an individual and us as a team and as a defense. I always have big goals for myself, have big goals for my team, so I feel like we can do great things, as far as being one of the best defense to ever come through football ever."

"I'm not the biggest rah-rah guy. I'm going to say what's on my mind or whatever gets the job done," Dean said. "At the end of the day, I feel like the only thing that matters is winning games. It's the only thing that matters. I feel whatever we got to do to win games is what I'm for."

"We are looking for high character guys. We are looking for guys that love football. We are looking for guys that are tough. We are looking for guys that have high football IQ. And (we are looking for guys that are) competitive, that's the last one. He checks every one of those boxes. He's a leader on the field for Georgia. His football IQ is so high. His instincts are so high." – Head Coach Nick Sirianni