THE EAGLES DRAFTED A LINE BACKER! This is not a drill.
Although, there is a bit of a medical concern caveat with their No. 83 overall selection, Nakobe Dean could be an incredible steal if he can get and stay healthy. Dean’s slide into the third round was reportedly due to him declining shoulder surgery, which gave a lot of teams pause. For the Eagles, however, Dean’s availability allowed the team to get a Day 1 talent in the middle of the third round, so it’s worth the gamble.
During their pre-draft press conference, Eagles GM Howie Roseman talked about his experience drafting injured players:
“And then the value has to be right, you know, the value of the player, and how we kind of feel the player fits for us, and what kind of player we think that player was pre-injury — how we base on our performance and our medical staff, who we have a lot of trust in, how they project that player to come back.”
Dean is the second defensive player out of Georgia drafted by Philly this weekend, and he’ll be joining his former teammate, and Eagles first round pick, DT Jordan Davis. Davis and some of their new teammates celebrated the pick.
Nakobe Dean was on many 1st rd mock drafts, but medical concerns apparently dropped him down NFL draft boards.#Eagles have shown they aren’t shy taking players coming off major injuries or with medical issues. Dean had his share. But the talent, mind is obviously there. https://t.co/kR5t8JVi76
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) Apr 30, 2022
Dean was a unanimous All-American last season, won the Butkus Award for the top LB in college football.
Multiple reports are that he fell because of an upper-body injury, but he’s a Day 1 talent. https://t.co/LCMMj3cK0x
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) Apr 30, 2022
Have you ever wondered “what if Davion Taylor was actually good?”
I give you: Nakobe Dean
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) Apr 30, 2022
Have to wonder why Nakobe Dean (NFL Network guys said he might miss the entire 2022 season) but certainly worth taking a chance on him at No. 83.
Eagles drafting a high profile LB. Who would’ve thought.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) Apr 30, 2022
Fall a long way due to medical but if he checks out he’ll be a star for the #Eagles – great value here.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) Apr 30, 2022
I’m so happy. Nakobe Dean is an Eagle. I cannot emphasize what I’m about to say enough: GO BIRDS!!!
— James Seltzer (@JamesSeltzer) Apr 30, 2022
The picks themselves are fine, but that means the #Eagles might not get any snaps from their 2 or 3. Rough doing both.
— Brent Cohen (@EaglesRewind) Apr 30, 2022
I love taking Nakobe Dean. High character player who I’m sure Sirianni will love. Fits a need and is worth the risk at this point.
— Tommy Lawlor (@lawlornfl) Apr 30, 2022
It’s not the worst idea to recreate the Georgia defense.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) Apr 30, 2022
Nakobe Dean has a 3.55 GPA in mechanical engineering at Georgia. Was the team captain for the national champs.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) Apr 30, 2022
Joe Schoen on Nakobe Dean: “There’s a reason he’s dropping. We can’t talk much about that.”
But said he’s a great kid. Doesn’t sound like #giants have interest.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) Apr 30, 2022
Beau Allen suffered a pec tear in early April, 2017, came back in late August. So, we’ll get more details on his injury soon, but if it’s just a normal pec tear it’s maybe not a season killer. https://t.co/YNTDP9iYVd
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) Apr 30, 2022
Look, I’m all for giving Howie Roseman credit for taking Dean here in the 3rd round. But let’s not believe Roseman picked Jurgens in Round 2 thinking there was any chance Dean would still be there in Round 3. Sometimes, you get lucky.
— John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) Apr 30, 2022