Nakobe Dean Has Makings Of A Great Leader, If He Can Play

When the Eagles drafted Nakobe Dean, we heard nothing about great things about his leadership. He may not have been the most talented player on the field for that championship Georgia Defense, but he was the guy running the show. On a team with guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, and Nolan Smith, it was Dean who took the role of the on-field leader.

Now the Eagles find themselves in need of a leader on defense. Fletcher Cox is gone. Darius Slay is a captain, but it is hard for an outside CB to be the one calling the shots on the field. CJ Gardner Johnson has the energy, but is perhaps a bit too volatile to be the on-field leader.

They need someone to step into that role. To be the Green Dot player, being Vic Fangio's eyes and voice on the field. Nakobe Dean is a great candidate for that, provided he actually plays.

In terms of being a leader, we have seen few LBs come through Philly as capable as DeMeco Ryans. There is a reason why he rose from being a player to a top coordinator to a head coach so quickly. The guy doesn't just know football, he knows how to lead men.

When Tim McManus, who covered DeMeco Ryans when he was on the Eagles, joined The Best Show Ever this week, he drew comparisons between Nakobe Dean and DeMeco Ryans.

"I am always impressed when I walk away from talking with Dean. To me, he gives off DeMeco Ryans vibes. That is high praise. Ryans is as good of a leader as it gets. He continues to show that as a head coach. Every time I walk away from him, that is the type of feel I get." - Tim McManus

That certainly is high praise, but it is backed up by everything we have heard about Dean before now. There is a reason they gave him the green dot last year before he ever stepped on the field.

But as McManus went on to point out, if he is going to live up to that high praise, he has to get on the field. You can't be a team leader from the bench. no one is going to take a captain seriously, especially not a young one if he isn't playing.

Ryans was not just a good leader, he was also a great player. An All-Pro caliber Linebacker. Something that is not a given yet with Dean.

It has not worked out for Dean in his two years with the Eagles, yet. In his rookie season, he hardly saw the field. In year 2 he was anointed the starter at the start of camp, but injuries plagued him from week 1.

That brings us to year 3. He is no longer the anointed starter at linebacker. Zack Baun and Devin White are getting 1st team reps before him. Though the word is that he has looked very good in the reps he is getting.

Adam Caplan joined Kincade and Saclciunas and noted Dean looks great as a blitzer, and that he came into camp much bigger physically. Our Birds insider Andrew DiCecco has said the same thing on and off air. But it is just camp. He looked good in camp last year too.

RELATED: Jordan Davis Impressing Early in Camp, Praised By Fangio

We can't blame Dean too much for his struggles last season. He got hurt in week 1, and even when he came back, he never looked right before going back on the IR. So maybe now that he is healthier and bigger, things will go better. He doesn't need to even be as great of a player as Ryans was. He needs to be a good one though. Good enough to stay on the field.

Hopefully, he can emerge as a starting-caliber Linebacker. Because in terms of intangibles, he has everything you could ever want from a Middle linebacker. If he gets on the field, he could become a tremendous leader for this now very young defense.

Every year in Eagles camp, there is some random player who wins the hearts and minds of Eagles fans. Someone who goes from a relative unknown to everyone's favorite player. They smash onto the scene in camp and in preseason games and have fans frothing at the mouth to make the final 53-man roster.

The truth is that player usually does not make the roster, or really ever make it in the NFL. There are outliers, but often times that player who comes out of nowhere in Eagles camp doesn't end up going anywhere.

I am talking about guys like Paul Turner, Rasheed Bailey, Tyree Jackson, and Dane Evans. Often times it is skill players. It is hard for Offensive Linemen to stand out too much. It has happened.

Jordan Mailata is the rare example of that type of guy working out. Alex Villeneuve was a darling as a Lineman, got cut, and made it elsewhere. So sometimes it pans out, and fans were right to fall in love.

Related: Eagles 53-Man Roster Projection Following Mini-Camp

But the vast majority of the guys we fell in love with were WRs, or pass rushers. Those are the guys who have the chance to stand out in camp, or in preseason games by putting up big numbers.

Someone in the second half of preseason games has to get targets. Getting a chance to play against 2nd string, or 3rd string corners or Linemen, might give those players a chance to beat up on their peers a bit. It is why Paul Turner, who never did much in the NFL, was so explosive in Eagles camp.

But who will be that guy this year? Which guy on the fringes of the Eagles roster are fans going to swoon for? Which players can be the standouts at Eagles camp? Whose name will have Eagles fans upset when they inevitably miss the cut?

Speed does not always play in the NFL, but it can play in camp. It is easy to see someone as fast as John Ross impressing in camp with his straight-line speed. With a few long TDs in practice or a pre-season game, Eagles fans will fall in love and think he is going to have a breakout season at 28 years old, 7 years after being drafted.

He is a long shot to make the team, even with a good camp. We have seen him struggle in the NFL. He has had a lot of shots and didn't make use of any of them. But he has the skill set to be a guy who looks good in practice.

Eagles fans love a tall WR. Wilson is tall, with decent speed. Like Ross, he has some traits that could make him stand out in practice.

Does he have the skills to be an NFL WR, we don't know. But he easily could have a big pre-season game and win the hearts of Eagles fans who are crazy enough to be locked into the second half of the 3rd Pre-Season game. Then it is just a matter of if he can crack the roster. But I could see him being a practice squad guy unless he is so good he forces their hand.

An RB from Georgia, of course, Eagles fans will fall in love. I doubt we see much of Barkley or Gainwell in the pre-season. Someone has to get carries. Will Shipley will get a good chunk, but so will UDFA Kendall Milton.

Milton was a fine back in College. There is nothing overly special about him, but he is solid. If he gets a ton of carries in these games, I won't be shocked if he puts up big numbers. I doubt he makes the team though. Barkley, Gainwell, and Shipley are locks. Will they keep a 4th RB? I doubt it. But Eagles fans might fall in love with him anyway.

Ngata was a camp darling last year. He impressed in camp but then was relegated to the practice squad. He will get another chance to be a camp darling this year. But it will be an uphill battle to make the roster yet again. There are a lot of WRs competing for a few spots.

At one point he was a highly touted College recruit. we never quite saw it, which is why he was a UDFA. But the traits that had him highly regarded going into College are still there, and can still show up on a practice field.

Rodgers is already a camp darling and camp hasn't started. There were Eagles fans who swore the Eagles did not need to draft a corner because they had Rodgers. Thankfully the Eagles disagreed and drafted 2 of them.

Rodgers was a good corner for the Colts. But he is no lock to make the team. Cornerback is the busiest position on the team. 4 spots, Slay, Mitchell, Ringo, and Dejean, are locks. That leaves 7 other guys competing for maybe 2 spots. Rodgers having success in the past gives him a leg off, but I can see him getting cut, and I can see Eagles fans losing their mind about it.

Here is a camp darling who might have a chance to break tradition and actually make the team. Smith was compared to Deebo Samuel when he was drafted. The skillset speaks to a guy who would be the perfect WR3 on this team.

But again, cracking the team as a WR may be tough. They need a WR 3 though, so if he impresses in the slot, he does have a chance. of all the WRs here, I think he has the best chance to actually be something.

As a former 1st round pick, Smith does not fit the criteria of the traditional camp darling. He is a lock to make a team and comes in with high expectations. But he is a guy where his skillset has not yet matched production. I can foresee him having a huge camp, making people very excited.

Does that mean he will also be great in the season? Maybe, maybe not. We won't know until the games start. But Smith's big camp had people thinking he would make an impact last season, and he never did. I will be surprised if he is not one of the camp standouts this season too. It is just a matter of if it carries into the season again.