PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Nakobe Dean #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts during the second quarter in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on November 05, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Linebacker has been an issue for the Eagles more often than not. In 2022 they actually had a solid group between TJ Edwards and Kyzir White. But last year, and most years before 2022, it was a bit of a mess. Eagles fans have suffered though players like Nicholas Morrow and Nate Gerry being starting linebackers on this team.
Will 2024 be different? Well signing Devin White is a start. He is not the perfect player, but we at least know he is an elite athlete, and has a high ceiling.But who will be the 2nd inside linebacker is still a mystery. It is coming down to Nakobe Dean vs Zack Baun, and we have no clear answer about who will win the job.
In the end, it should be Nakobe Dean lining up next to Devin White in week 1. Here is why.
The Case For Nakobe Dean
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Last season, Dean was anointed the Eagles main inside linebacker before the season started. They gave him the coveted green dot. The season did not go his way though. He was injured early, and seemingly never recovered. He came back for a few weeks in the middle of the season, but he struggled, and then went back on the IR.
We still don’t know if he can play. He was a hell of a player at Georgia, but 2 years into his time in Philly we have no clue if he is an NFL linebacker.
This year he started camp down on the depth chart. They have given Baun the bulk of the 1st team snaps, and in the latest-season game Baun came out of the game with the starters, with Dean playing the bulk of the game.
But in the joint practice, which we know they value, the tables were turned. It was Dean playing with the 1st team. So which one should we read into? Maybe the answer is that they don’t even know yet. Tim McManus joined The Best Show Ever last week and talked about how he doesn’t think it is a settled decision yet.
“Linebacker still feels like a work in progress… Fangio continues to look at different pairings… it signals to me that it is obviously not settled, and he doesn’t feel great, yet, about who that 1-2 is going to be.”
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
No one has run way with it yet, and they are running out of time. But my take on it is that one of these guys has played inside linebacker, the other is new to it, and wasn’t even that special of a player at his natural position of outside linebacker.
When the Eagles signed Baun, we assumed it was depth at Edge Rusher. He barley saw the field with the Saints in that role. Suddenly though, the Eagles were talking about him as an inside linebacker. He continued to be talked about as a serious contender for that job into camp, where he got 1st string snaps. he has not lost the job, but he also has not done enough to earn it yet.
It makes way more sense to go with the guy who not only has more upside, but also a higher floor. We know Dean knows how to play linebacker. Whether or not he has the physical traits to do so at this level remains to be seen. But at the College level, he was a great inside linebacker. And we know he is a smart player, and a hell of a leader.
Dean makes more sense. One because he is actually a linebacker. He knows how to play linebacker. He knows how to blitz from the inside. he knows how to read the run. He knows how to run a defense from the field, and has the making of a great field general. And he knows how to play with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Nolan Smith.
It was a good move to make Dean earn it this year after being anointed in 2023. But with him looking the part in the preseason games, and in practice, it should eventually be him on the field in week 1.
Dylan MacKinnon is The Digital Content Coordinator For 97.5 The Fanatic. he has been an Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Flyers fan his whole life. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Journalism. Dylan has worked at the Fanatic since 2016, starting as an Intern, moving to the Street team, and eventually was hired as an Associate Producer before settling into his current role in the Digital Department. You may hear him referred to on-air as "The D-Train."
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