What’s up everyone! This is an out-of-bounds posting. I wanted to show you guys something I wrote up about Nakobe Dean for my Sports Management class last year. I haven’t checked it since, but I realized he’s playing for the Raiders after leaving the Eagles. I was surprised and now see why the Raiders defense is so productive this season. I encourage y’all to read my posting. It left me speechless. Have a great day!
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A 2022 National Champion of the Georgia Bulldogs. A 2021 Dick Butkus Award winner. He was amongst a group of Dawgs that played together, fought together, and won together. Now, linebacker Nakobe Dean’s with Philadelphia and you’re wondering what he has done to be considered for a contract extension. I can tell you this: he’s productive, impactful, a hard worker, a team player, and a key component in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s schemes that Philly so desperately needed after a poor 2023 season. In Nakobe Dean’s PFF rating, he was 12th amongst the Top 84 linebackers in 2024, 6th amongst linebackers in the NFC, and 2nd behind Chiefs’ Leo Chenal in their 2022 linebacker draft class. Dean’s only 24, has been in the NFL for two seasons, and overcame a foot injury in 2023 to make a big jump as one of the starters and one of the important players last season. He also received All-Pro mention, which tells you how big of a deal he was to the team. He was one of the main reasons why the Eagles returned to the postseason and won the Super Bowl as one of the best defenses in the NFL.
I had the liberty to look at the young man’s 2024 highlight videos, and that 5’11 234-pound dawg can tackle and end the play on most of his snaps. He’s a heat-seeking missile who’s good at disrupting an offense and hunts ball-carriers no matter how fast or big they are. His tackle on Rachaad White in the backfield and sack on Daniel Jones after recovering from Devin Singletary’s low block on the same play were one of the examples in his highlights. He was confident enough to slow down Derrick Henry to under 100 yards rushing with no touchdowns. Dean and Zack Baun (who received his extension after his 2024 breakout performance as well) were a dangerous duo with a great rapport together making key and game-changing plays together. You can say they were one of the best duo linebackers in the NFL last season. I gathered some stats to show how important Dean was to Philly’s defense.
- Dean played 92.1 percent of snaps in the regular season in 2024
- He averaged 5.8 tackles per game through 15 games
- Short Yard Tackles (3 yards or less): 42
- Line of scrimmage tackles: 9
Of 128 total tackles made by Nakobe Dean via ESPN and Pro Football Reference stats, he affected 33% of short yardage stops with solo and assisted tackles. His impact on the game goes further with a successful interception against Trevor Lawrence in the endzone that ended the Jaguars on Doug Pederson’s homecoming in Philly. He also had a couple of interception opportunities with his four pass breakups during the season. Of the 26 turnovers Philly forced, Dean was involved in five of them.
I’m well aware of his patellar tendon tear against Green Bay in the playoffs and needs time to recover before potentially returning for the 2025 season, but that shouldn’t stop his consideration for a contract extension. He’s a formidable linebacker, one of the defensive leaders, and an impact player on and off the field. Rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell won’t match Dean’s performance and his absence would hurt Philly’s defense just enough to where they might lose a few more games than last season. He deserves at least a 3-year extension with bigger pay as a future long-term linebacker.
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