THE EAGLES HAVE DRAFTED A LINEBACKER! This is not an exercise.
Although there is a small medical caveat with the No. 83 overall pick, Nakobe Dean could be an incredible bargain if he can get and stay healthy. Dean’s slide into the third round was Reportedly due to his declining shoulder surgery, which made many teams think. For the Eagles, however, Dean’s availability allowed the team to get a Day 1 talent midway through the third round, so it’s worth the risk.
During their pre-draft press conference, Eagles GM Howie Roseman spoke about his experience with injured players:
“And then the value has to be right, you know, the value of the player and how we think the player is a good fit for us and what kind of player we think that player was before the injury – how we base on that Performance and our medical staff who we have a lot of trust in as they predict this player to come back.”
Dean is the second Georgia defenseman to be drafted by Philly this weekend and he will join former Eagles teammate and first-round pick DT Jordan Davis. Davis and some of her new teammates celebrated the election.
Nakobe Dean was on many 1st rd mock drafts, but medical concerns apparently dropped him from the NFL draft boards.#Eagle have shown that they are not shy about taking players with serious injuries or with medical problems. Dean had his share. But the talent, mind is obviously there. https://t.co/kR5t8JVi76
—Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) April 30, 2022
Dean was a unanimous All-American last season, winning the Butkus Award for best LB in college football.
Multiple reports say he fell due to an upper body injury, but he’s a Day 1 talent. https://t.co/LCMMj3cK0x
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) April 30, 2022
Have you ever wondered “what if Davion Taylor was really good?”
I give you: Nakobe Dean
– Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 30, 2022
I have to wonder why Nakobe Dean (people at NFL Network said he could miss the entire 2022 season), but he’s definitely worth giving him a chance at No. 83.
Eagles draft a high-profile LB. Who would have thought.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) April 30, 2022
Fell far for medical treatment but if he comes forward he’ll be a star for them #Eagle – great value here.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 30, 2022
I’m so happy. Nakobe Dean is an eagle. I can’t stress enough what I’m about to say: GO BIRDS!!!
— James Seltzer (@JamesSeltzer) April 30, 2022
The picks themselves are fine, but that means the #Eagle may not get snaps of their 2 or 3. Difficult to do both.
— Brent Cohen (@EaglesRewind) April 30, 2022
I love taking Nakobe Dean. Strong character player that I’m sure Sirianni will love. Fits a need and is worth the risk at this point.
— Tommy Lawlor (@lawlornfl) April 30, 2022
Recreating the Georgia Defense isn’t the worst idea.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) April 30, 2022
Nakobe Dean has a 3.55 GPA in Mechanical Engineering in Georgia. Was the team captain for the national championships.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) April 30, 2022
Joe Schoen on Nakobe Dean: “There’s a reason he’s falling off. We can’t talk much about that.”
But said he’s a great kid. Doesn’t sound like it #Giants Have interest.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) April 30, 2022
Beau Allen suffered a pectoral muscle tear in early April 2017 and came back in late August. So we’ll have more details on his injury soon, but if it’s just a normal pectoral tear, it might not be a season killer. https://t.co/YNTDP9iYVd
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) April 30, 2022
See, I’m all for giving credit to Howie Roseman for getting Dean here in the 3rd round. But let’s not think that Roseman picked Jurgens in Round 2 because he thought Dean would still be around in Round 3. Sometimes you’re lucky.
—John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) April 30, 2022