Nakobe Dean coming on strong in fight to win back starting gig

Dating back to the spring and now in 12 of 13 training camp practices, the Eagles’ top inside linebackers have been Devin White and Zack Baun.

But that competition isn’t over. 

Not if Nakobe Dean has anything to say about it.

The Eagles’ third-year linebacker has been constantly rotating in with the first-team defense amid a strong training camp and has been even better in the preseason. Through the first two preseason games, Dean has been the highest-graded Eagles player on defense and the third-highest-graded linebacker in the league, according to ProFootballFocus.

“I feel like I’ve been in a groove,” Dean said after Thursday night’s preseason win. “I feel like I’ve had a good camp, I’ve been stacking days. I probably had one real bad practice. Other than that, I feel like I’ve been getting better a working toward getting better.”

Dean, 23, was drafted in the third round out of Georgia back in 2022 and basically had a redshirt season as a rookie. In 2023, he was pegged early as a starter but suffered foot injuries that derailed his season. That led to a lengthy recovery process.

From the time he came back this spring and through 13 days of training camp, he has seemingly been behind White and Baun in the competition to be starting linebackers. But Dean is pushing hard.

“When I came back, it was like, they definitely didn’t put me in the spot where a lot of people probably expected me to be at,” Dean said. “So it was just like continue to take advantage of every opportunity, every rep that I get.”

Last year, the Eagles handed Dean a starting gig. 

This year, he’s looking to take it.

“You gotta work. Head down, work,” Dean said. “I’ve been playing ball since I was 4 years old. Nothing has been given to me. 

“Coming from Horn Lake, Mississippi, I didn’t get too many looks. We had nobody go D-1 to play ball. Was able to beat the odds, go to Georgia. I’m a 5-11 middle linebacker, had to beat the odds at Georgia, win the [National Championship]. Get drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s just continue to work daily and take advantage of every opportunity I got.”

Throughout training camp, while White and Baun have started most days as the top linebackers, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has really mixed and matched at the position. All of the top guys — White, Baun, Dean and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. — have played alongside each other.

While it seems very likely that White is going to be a starter, it also seems obvious that those other guys are fighting for playing time next to him.

Even though Baun has been solid and Trotter Jr. has certainly showed some encouraging signs, Dean still might earn that job.

“Of course, I want to play,” Dean said on Saturday. “I want to be the first ones out there that play. But I can’t control that. Only thing I can control is what I come out here and do every day. And work hard and continue to get better. I feel like I done had the type of camp that I was supposed to have.”

After Thursday night’s game, it seems like Dean has some real momentum.

Head coach Nick Sirianni thought Dean played “really well” against the Patriots on Thursday night in Foxboro.

“He was flying around to the ball,” Sirianni said. “He had this play – first of all, just to talk about our core values, he had a detailed play on his tackle where he shot out and made a tackle on a screen. That was awesome, right? His fundamentals of tackling. He just got the guy down. Not the prettiest way, just get the guy down. … He just did an unbelievable job getting the guy down.

“Then he had a play where he blitzed, had the back on him. Would like to have a better win there on that play, but then the play — we had a couple missed tackles on the play, and he's four yards in the backfield and retraces and makes a really good tackle. Sometimes what happens on missed tackles is it turns into an explosive. Well, that didn't because of the relentless effort of Nakobe. His fundamentals, his tackling, his block destruction, and his effort on his plays is really where you're able to see his talent.”

Dean’s solid play continued on Saturday morning at the NovaCare Complex. He had a big hit on running back Will Shipley in a 7-on-7 rep. He decked the rookie running back and has made a point to up his physicality all summer.

White has certainly noticed.

“The guy flies around, man,” White said. “He’s very physical on contact. He always wants to be the thumper. The hammer and not the nail. I really like that about him. Just a relentless mindset of want to go out there and kill.”

There’s no question that Dean is having the best training camp of his young career. Aside from a poor performance at the public practice, Dean has been making way more plays this summer than he did in 2022 or 2023.

After all the hard work he put into rehabbing this offseason, Dean has been appreciating his chance to get back on the field as an improved player in Year 3.

“I’m not back,” Dean said. “I’m better.”

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