Eagles General Manager, Howie Roseman did an outstanding job a year ago of building what was very close to being a Super Bowl Championship squad. He’s now in the midst of rebuilding the Eagles defense, which was decimated during the offseason by free agency. I like what he’s done on the defensive line with the drafting of Georgia Bulldogs Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round, but I am still not confident about what he’s done at the linebacker position. Specifically, the inside linebackers who play off of the line of scrimmage and make the coverage and defensive calls.
Yes, they will likely have former Georgia All-American, second year linebacker Nakobe Dean lining up at the middle linebacker spot, but he is still unproven on the NFL level. He didn’t play very much at all in the 2022-23 season because veteran linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White played nearly all of the snaps. Now they are gone. Edwards, who played the Mike linebacker spot, called the signals and ran the defense. He signed with the Bears this off season. White played the Will linebacker spot all season and he signed with the Cardinals during free agency.
It looks like Dean will be starting at middle linebacker. I do feel good about what I’ve seen so far of the young Georgia Bulldog linebacker because he’s very smart and understands the offensive and defensive concepts of the NFL game. Dean is also very adept at playing behind a big and physical defensive line. He shined when playing behind former Bulldogs, Carter and Jordan Davis. I think he will do a good job behind Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and the rest of the Birds defensive linemen. Dean is very good at using the big defensive linemen as shields at the snap of the ball and during the play, then attacking the football at the right split second to make the tackle.
I got a chance to ask him a question at a recent Eagles news conference. I questioned him about the differences between NFL offenses and college offenses and he did a good job of pointing out the significant differences between the two. He said his Bulldog defenses in college had to deal with quite a few, very physical, run heavy offenses in the SEC, but most NFL offenses will spread out a defense and attack it primarily through the air. Dean pointed out that the NFL has a bevy of talented tight ends, which he will be asked to cover. I expect Dean, a honor student in the Georgia engineering department, to shine at anticipating route schemes and defending the pass.
All in all, I expect Dean to step in there at the starting spot at middle linebacker and do a good job of getting everybody lined up properly and being a step ahead of the opposing offenses. He has the ability to anticipate the plays by the offensive alignments which he will see. Dean showed us at Georgia that he is capable of studying opposing offenses and staying a step ahead of them. He can’t get caught out of place because he’s undersized, standing only 5’11” and weighing 231 pounds. He must use his smarts, along with his quickness and athleticism to do the job in the middle of the Birds defense. I think his play is going to be critical to the Birds season.
It looks like Nicholas Morrow, who has had one decent season in the league, will be lining up at the other linebacker spot next to Dean. Morrow had a productive year in 2023 with what was an awful Chicago Bears defense. He recorded 116 tackles, 83 of which were solos, along with one interception and 11 tackles for a loss. He seems to be a good athlete, but how good can he be.
Morrow has been in the NFL for five years, four years as a backup with the Raiders and one year with the Bears. He seems to play the run better than he plays the pass. He’s got to do a better job of recognizing routes. Morrow needs to react to the quarterback quicker, when playing zone and anticipate receiver routes when playing man-to-man. I do see potential.
To put it bluntly, I don’t see how the Eagles can feel comfortable with what they have at the linebacker position, right now. I think they need to add more talent.
The Eagles backups at the Mike and Will linebacker spots are Shaun Bradley, a Temple product, who is in his third season and he still hasn’t seen much action. They also have rookie Christian Ellis on the roster. He played his college ball at Idaho.
I believe the Eagles will make some moves between now and training camp. They need to find veteran linebackers, who can play the run well, but just as important that they must find backers, who can run so they can defend the NFL passing attacks. These guys need to have NFL playing experience, and be able to step in at Mike or Will if needed.
I’m confident that Roseman will find some linebacker depth for the Sean Desai-coached defense. He must find veteran backers who can step in there, if needed, and make plays.
