On Roob’s Eagles Notes: Finding Out What’s Going On With Nakobe Dean

On Roob’s Eagles Notes: Finding Out What’s Going On With Nakobe Dean originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia

Finding out what’s going on with Nakobe Dean, a look back at Buddy Ryan’s playoff history, and Jason Kelce’s thoughts on the difference between a deli and a diner.

That’s a taste of what’s to come in this week’s edition of Roob’s Random Eagles’ Top 10 Offseason Observations.

1. When Zack Baun was taking almost all 1^st-team reps off-ball linebacker alongside Devin White three weeks ago at minicamp, I figured it was just because Nakobe Dean was still working his way back from foot surgery late last year. So at the mandatory minicamp, Dean was a full participant, and Baun was still getting most of the 1^st-team representatives. Dean has mixed in here and there, but based on the workouts we’ve seen so far, Baun — a guy I thought wasn’t even rostered a month ago — is clearly ahead of Dean on the depth chart. And I’m not sure I understand that. Don’t the Eagles need to find out if Dean can play? He’s the one who’s 23 years old, he’s the one the Eagles drafted in the third round just two years ago, he’s the one who’s under contract through 2025, he’s the one everyone was so excited about. So he doesn’t play as a rookie and he got hurt last year and now he’s buried behind a 27 year old on a one year contract playing a new position? I’m not saying Dean is the answer. I’m saying I’d like to see him get at least half of 1^st-team takes photos just to know more about him. Maybe when training camp rolls around next month he’ll run more with the 1’s. We saw mostly White and Baun, but also a little White and Dean and even some Baun and Dean. But mostly White and Baum. Maybe Dean just needs to do better in picking a fourth defensive scheme in three years. Maybe he’s still working on some things with his foot even though he’s healthy enough to do full reps with both. Maybe the coaches want him to understand that nothing is going to be handed to him. Heck, maybe Baun is just better. He looked good in the five training sessions open to the media, although obviously without pads. I just want to see Nakobe get a fair chance. If he’s not good enough, he’s not good enough.

two. In their three playoff games under Buddy Ryan, the Eagles have had 43 offensive possessions. Here’s how it went: 20 punts, nine turnovers, six field goals, two missed field goals, three unsuccessful fourth downs, two game endings and a touchdown.

3. We spend so much time talking about rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, as well as rookie Isaiah Rodgers, that it’s easy to forget about Kelee Ringo, who received a generous helping of 1^st-team reps last week at mandatory camp. Ringo got a taste of playing time late last year and seemed comfortable surrounded by chaos. From what we’ve seen over the last few weeks, he’s progressing in his rookie year and looking great. He can run, he has excellent size and you can tell his confidence has grown exponentially since last year. I think Cooper is destined for 1^st– spot on the team this year with Avonte Maddox backing him up, and Mitchell is still the favorite to win that CB2 spot this summer alongside Darius Slay, but Ringo is going to give him a good fight this summer and I don’t think it’s a taken for granted that Mitchell wins this job. Now, when Darius Slay moves on — and that could very well be next year — it’s easy to envision Ringo and Mitchell as the starting outfielders, with DeJean inside and Rodgers as the backup outfielder, if he’s still here. That’s still a long way off, but the talent level this year compared to last year is absurd.

4. Jason Kelce and I have had an ongoing discussion throughout the 2022 season about the similarities and differences between sandwich shops and delis. What does a deli do? What does a restaurant do? It was stupid, funny, and typical Kelce because he loves an exhaustive analysis of incredibly mundane topics. So at the final Super Bowl media availability at the Sheraton Grand in Wild Horse Pass, Kelce spent a full hour nonstop at the podium surrounded by what must have been 100 microphones and TV cameras. As I walked off the stage, Kelce saw me, seemed lost in thought for a second or two, and then said, “If they have china mustard pots, it’s a deli.”

5. With the additions of the old 1^stround pick Mekhi Becton and ex-2^{It is}Round pick Max Scharping, Howie Roseman now acquired five 1^st– round choices, two 2^{It is}-round choices, seven 3^third– round choices, three 4^th-round choices and three three 5^th-round picks this offseason as a free agent. Only a few of these guys will make the 53-man roster (and DeVante Parker is already gone), but it’s certainly an interesting way to add talent. Instead of accumulating young and unknown players, accumulate recovery projects. Almost all of these guys were once a legitimate prospect, but for some reason fell out of favor with the team that drafted them. Most of them are risk-free guys with zero guaranteed money, what if some of them work out? So it was worth it,

6. The last two NFL quarterbacks to throw 15 interceptions in a season after throwing seven or fewer the previous season (minimum 400 attempts) are Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts. Wentz threw seven INTs in 607 attempts for the Eagles in 2017 and 15 in 437 attempts a year later. Hurts threw six INTs in 460 attempts in 2022 and 15 in 538 attempts last year.

7. Of all the older one-year tentative defensive free agents the Eagles signed last year – Nicholas Morrow, Bradley Roby, Shaq Leonard, Zach Cunningham, Kevin Byard, Justin Evans – the one I thought would be the first to get one job was Cunningham, who wasn’t great last year, but wasn’t horrible. Yet here we are in June and along with Roby, Leonard and Evans Cunningham is still unemployed. I thought in a real defense, with a real coaching staff and better personnel around him, he could be a viable starting off-ball linebacker. Of the 68 linebackers who played at least 500 snaps last year, Cunningham ranked 34th^th in the focus of professional football. So, right in the middle of the pack. And that was playing in a defense that was deteriorating before our eyes, especially after the change of coordinator. If Cunningham is still not signed by the end of July, he wouldn’t be surprised if Howie Roseman brings him back as a depth piece or even as a possible starter if the Eagles aren’t happy with how things are going.

8. Tanner McKee has looked sharp the last few weeks in practices open to the media. I would have been fine with the Eagles rolling the dice with McKee at No. 2, especially after the way he played last preseason. And so, if you need to bring in a veteran backup before the season, you can always find one. I’m fine with Kenny Pickett. To get a QB who was 20 years old^th -pick in the draft just two years ago and has a career winning record (14-10) for what is essentially a two-year, $4.6 million contract that just doesn’t happen. He is an upgrade over Marcus Mariota and turned 26 on Thursday. But I like McKee and I think he has a little something.

9. Mark Duper had a very good career in the NFL. He made three Pro Bowls with the Dolphins in the 1980s and 1990s, had four 1,000-yard seasons, averaged 17 yards per reception for his career, had three 100-yard games in the postseason. During the decade from 1983 to 1992, only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Art Monk had more rushing yards than Duper, only Rice, Mark Clayton and Mike Quick had more touchdowns, and only Rice and Monk had more 100-yard games. To date, Duper is among the eight WRs in history with 500 receptions, 60 touchdowns and 17 yards per reception. But who remembers Duper’s career with the Eagles? The Eagles signed Duper on August 19, 1993, about three weeks after the Dolphins released him. He was 34 at the time, but he talked a good game: “I can still run. I can run and catch it. I can think about it. I’m not as slow as people think I am,” he told us after reporting to West Chester. He was released 11 days later. He never played again.

10. Corey Clement is not only the only rookie running back in NFL history with 100 receiving yards in a Super Bowl, he is the only one with 90, 80 or 70 yards rushing in a Super Bowl. The only other RB in history with more than 40 receiving yards in a Super Bowl as a rookie was Joseph Addai, who had 66 yards in the Colts’ victory over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI in Miami after the 2006 season.

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