The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t a team that’s been built around any one player — they’ve seen stars like quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and edge rusher Brandon Graham all go down with injuries this season and still managed to earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC Playoffs.
That doesn’t make what happened to linebacker Nakobe Dean in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game against the Green Bay Packers hurt any worse.
Dean was carted off the field with an apparent lower leg injury in the first half as he tackled Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported he would not return to the game.
“Hate seeing Nakobe Dean go down,” CBS Sports commentator and Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty wrote on his official X account. “The most underrated guy on this defense and probably most improved player on this team from last season. Zach Baun called him the leader of the defense, signal caller and a guy who doesn’t get the credit he deserves!”
Dean was replaced in the lineup by veteran linebacker Oren Burks, who played for the Packers from 2018 to 2021.
Dean Has Been Elite LB On Every Level
Dean, 5-foot-11 and 231 pounds, has been an elite linebacker on every level. He was a five-star recruit out of Horn Lake High School in Hernando, Mississippi, where he won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top high school linebacker.
At the University of Georgia, Dean was the leader of the defense alongside a gaggle of fellow future Eagles like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith that won the College Football Playoff national championship following the 2021 season.
That same year, Dean was named an All-American and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top collegiate linebacker and left school with 1 year of eligibility remaining and was selected by the Eagles in the third round (No. 83 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft.
“Explosive, three-down linebacker with the demeanor and quickness to become a volume tackler while holding down third-down duties at a high level,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote ahead of the 2022 draft. ” … He might lack measurables, but he has the toughness and technique to see a boost in his performance once his play becomes more proactive.”
Dean Had Breakout Season in 2024
Dean became a full-time starter for the Eagles in 2024 — one of 4 former Georgia players who start on Philadelphia’s defense — and responded with a breakout season.
While Dean struggled with injuries and inconsistent play through his first 2 seasons and missed 12 games with a foot injury in 2023. He had 128 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 9 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception in 2024.
With Dean playing the best football of his career, the Eagles established themselves as the NFL’s No. 1 defense and finished the season with a 14-3 record.
He was also not the only Philadelphia starter injured against the Packers. Starting cornerback Darius Slay, who had an interception in the first half, was taken to the locker room with an apparent elbow injury but returned to the game after undergoing an examination.
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