It was seen as a surprise that linebacker Nakobe Dean slid to the third round of the 2022 draft and he didn’t get much of a chance to prove he should have come off the board earlier during his rookie season.
Dean was mostly limited to special teams work as the Eagles made a run to the Super Bowl, but that’s set to change this year. T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White both left as free agents this offseason and the Eagles didn’t make any moves that would impede Dean’s ascent up the depth chart.
On Wednesday, Dean said he’s prepared for his new role.
“It just shows that they’re ready for me to step up,” Dean said, via Dave Zangaro of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “I feel like I’m ready to step up. I’ve been ready. But as we do it now, it’s time for me to put out whatever I can do for this team to win ultimately.”
The Eagles were able to hold onto several key players from last year’s team, but there were a number of departures that will leave them counting on Dean and other new faces as they try to emulate last season’s success.