Most 22-year-olds would feel threatened if their general manager and coach decided to go out in the middle of training camp and sign two veterans who’ve started a combined 178 NFL games and happen to play the same position they do.
Nakobe Dean is not most 22-year-olds.
Dean, the Eagles’ starting inside linebacker, said he welcomes former 2nd-round picks Zach Cunningham and Myles Jack, who the Eagles signed on Sunday to help solidify a very young, very inexperienced, very thin linebacker position.
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Could one of them wind up replacing Dean if last year’s third-round pick struggles in his first year as a starter? It’s possible. But Dean isn’t concerned. On the contrary. He loves having those guys here.
“I know it's a business," he said after practice Thursday. "I know what kind of league this is. You've got to perform and the best players are going to play. So that's the only thing I'm worried about.
“When they signed those guys, I wanted to get as much information out of them. They're great players. They’re guys that I watched in college, watched their film, tried to emulate some of the things they do.
“They add competition to the room. They add depth to the linebacker group. They bring a lot of insight. So when they brought them in, I was thinking, ‘Yeah, get as much information as I can.’”
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What kind of camp is Dean having?
It’s hard to say. He hasn’t flashed a ton. But it’s not like he’s missing assignments or tackles, either. And it’s never easy evaluating a Mike linebacker in a camp that doesn’t include any live periods with tackling to the ground.
Dean returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday and full-time on Thursday after suffering a mild ankle injury on Aug. 3. He missed three full practices.
Other than that? He’s taken every rep with the starting defense as the guys next to him have rotated.
“I feel like I've done a good job,” Dean said. “I've done a good job as far as communicating and everything. Every day I'm just continuing to work and get better. Of course, I feel like I can do a better job, but no matter what I've done this camp, if I was the greatest thing since sliced bread or the worst, I’d probably still say I could be better in every aspect of my game.”
The main group of off-ball linebackers now includes Dean, Christian Ellis, Nicholas Morrow, Cunningham and Jack.
The only lock is that Dean will be here.
And that he’ll use every resource at his disposal to become a better player.
“I feel like everybody in the room is helpful,” he said. “Because everybody kind of sees the game from a different lens. So they see different things - how we could have played something? How could we have blitzed that differently?
“Everybody provides a little different insight of what they think. So just hearing all the different opinions and insights always helps.”
We don’t know if Dean will play in the preseason opener Saturday night vs. the Ravens in Baltimore. He only played 34 defensive snaps as a rookie, and he’s now wearing the green dot helmet, so he could use the work. But if the coaches consider him a starter and the starters don’t play, then we won’t see him. Plus, coming off an ankle, they might want to rest him anyway.
Whatever happens, Dean has the confidence of a much older veteran and a much more experienced player.
“You've got to have that confidence in yourself,” he said. “I've got to have that confidence in myself. If I don't believe in me, who will?
“Of course, I've got that confidence that I can do it. I always felt like I could do it, even when I first got drafted. I felt like this is the time to really step into that role and be that guy.”