It’s fair to wonder what the heck is happening with Nakobe Dean. He’s gone from ballyhooed 3rd-round pick to opening-day starter at 22 years old to season-ending foot surgery to splitting reps with a free agent we didn’t even know was a linebacker.
Do the Eagles still believe in Dean? Do they still consider him a key cog in their defensive future? Is Zack Baun really a legitimate candidate to start ahead of him?
Both Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman were extremely complimentary of Dean on Wednesday – downright effusive in their praise – and sure made it sound like the former Georgia star is a guy they’re still very high on.
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“We have tremendous confidence in Nakobe,” Roseman said. “That's why we drafted him. That doesn't change. … We are really excited about him. He has the right mentality. There is no question in my mind what his contributions were to one of the best defenses in the history of college football. I know that just from watching the tape. I know that from talking to the coaches.
“And then the opportunity is there. The opportunities at that position, I think we're excited to see what that brings. Obviously, it's a position that in Philadelphia we understand comes under a little bit more of the microscope, and that's probably warranted.”
The obvious question is: If you're so high on him, why is he splitting reps with Zack Baun?
More on that in a second.
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After sitting out virtually all of his rookie year, Dean last year became the Eagles’ youngest opening-day linebacker since Mychal Kendricks in 2012. But foot injuries derailed his season, and he was limited to just five games before undergoing season-ending surgery.
When he didn’t get any reps with the first defense in spring practices, you couldn’t help wonder if the Eagles were losing their confidence in Dean.
The good news is that on Day 1 of training camp Wednesday, Dean did work in with the first defense, first alongside Devin White and later with Baun.
It’s hard to imagine White not starting if he’s healthy, which means Dean is competing with Baun for the LB2 spot.
No offense to Baun, a 27-year-old who spent his first four seasons with the Saints and started 14 games.
But it’s hard to imagine a healthy Dean can’t beat out Baun for a starting job.
“That's going to be something, that's going to be a great competition to play out,” Sirianni said. “I'm really excited. You look at some of the things, and we'll never say, ‘Hey, these are the positions we're excited about the battles at,’ but sometimes Howie and I talk about, ‘Man, I can’t wait to see that linebacker position.’
“We feel really good about the guys that have been added and the guys back from last year. So just so excited to see how that goes.”
The Eagles signed Baun to a one-year, $1.6 million contract, so he’s not even a lock to make the roster.
Second-year undrafted free agent Ben VanSumeren and rookie 5th-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. are also in the mix at off-ball linebacker.
But it’s going to come down to Dean and Baun. Presumably, they’ll continue rotating until defensive coordinator Vic Fangio makes a decision later this preseason.
Considering they drafted Dean 83rd overall just two years ago, and he’s only played 216 defensive snaps since – many of them on a damaged foot – it would be somewhat disastrous if he gets beat out by Baun.
“Nakobe came back in great shape,” Sirianni said. “Worked his butt off. He said to me (Tuesday), ‘Are we putting the pads on tomorrow?’ when I walked past him.
“I know he's ready. I know he’s ready mentally, I know he’s ready physically. I'm excited to see him and I’m excited to see that position as a whole.”