Top 25 Eagles Ranked: Nakobe Dean - ‘Impact Time’?

Nakobe Dean will be counted on heavily as the man in the middle of the Philadelphia Eagles' defense

PHILADELPHIA - Our ranking of the top 25 best Philadelphia Eagles on the roster marches on with a player who probably shouldn’t even be on the team.

By all accounts, he was supposed to be a first-round draft pick in 2022 but fell far and fell hard. He didn’t even get picked in the second round. Though he was on the Eagles’ draft board, they went in another direction with their second-round pick, taking offensive lineman Cam Jurgens.

When the Eagles’ turn to pick in the third round came along, he was still there, and they didn’t even blink before turning in their draft card.

Now, that player came out as the team’s 20th-best Eagle on rankings compiled by beat writers Ed Kracz and John McMullen. He is:

LB NAKOBE DEAN

The process behind the top-25 list started with Kracz and McMullen putting together their own top 25 players independent of each other’s rankings and then assigning point values, with 25 points awarded to the player ranked first on each list, 24 to the player ranked second, and so on, with one point going to the player that was put 25th.

The highest ranking from either reporter breaks any ties in the ballot.

So far, the rankings have shaken out this way:

No. 25 - Kenny Gainwell

No. 24 - Nicholas Morrow

No. 23 - Reed Blankenship

No. 22 - Terrell Edmunds

No. 21 - Jake Elliott

The Eagles had already reconfigured their linebacker room when they had no other choice but to select a player of Dean’s quality in the third round.

It was during the offseason, before the 2022 draft, that the team signed Kyzir White to a one-year deal in free agency to pair next to T.J. Edwards. They also brought in outside linebacker/edge rusher Haason Reddick.

They were all set.

Then, Dean fell in their laps.

They had no other choice but to take him with the 83rd overall pick, his value at that point making him the best player still available regardless of a position the Eagles didn’t have a need for after an offseason of restocking the position.

Outside of what Dean did in college at the University of Georgia, he is mostly an unknown at the professional level, other than what coaches, and, to a much lesser extent, media see in practice each day.

Edwards and White stayed healthy all season and excelled, finishing as the Eagles’ top two tacklers.

So, Dean made it onto the field for just 34 defensive snaps (3 percent). He did play 340 snaps on special teams (75 percent). Now, he is being counted on to be the captain of the defense, to wear the green dot helmet to make sure everyone is lined up where they are supposed to be pre-snap.

“Obviously, we started in the weight room,” said Nicholas Morrow, signed in the offseason to play alongside Dean when asked what he has learned about his new teammate.

“He’s very explosive and strong. Then we got into the meeting rooms, and he’s smart. He knows his stuff. He knows what’s going on. He’s a good communicator. So, he’s doing a great job.”

Dean totaled 13 points, with seven coming from McMullen, who had him ranked No. 20 on his list while Kracz put him at No. 19.

If he plays up to what he did at Georgia, Dean will certainly climb higher in the rankings as his career progresses.

“He has this thing, this chip on his shoulder,” said Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis, drafted in the same class as Dean after the two of them led Georgia to their first of two straight national championships.

“He always talks about it and that's what drives him and just seeing him get his opportunity and for us to have the opportunity to play together. … Having him get his shot, It's great. It's great. There isn't much to be said but I just love seeing him have his opportunity."

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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