A lot of Eagles fans over the next few days, weeks, and even months will read a lot of Nakobe Dean scouting reports and watch a lot of YouTube highlight reels. There's so much to love about the third-round pick's game, from his speed to his knack for playmaking.
But to hear a former NFL cornerback tell it, the best part of Nakobe Dean's game isn't the explosion or the sideline-to-sideline ability.
It's his brain.
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Domonique Foxworth, who spent seven years in the NFL and is now a commentator and analyst with ESPN, explained on The Right Time with Bomani Jones podcast Friday just how impressed he is by what he's seen from Dean on tape in terms of the way the linebacker sees the field and processes opposing offenses:
"FOXWORTH: Nakobe Dean, the linebacker they have, the most special thing about him is his brain moves as fast as his feet, as fast as anything on the field. I want to see him against a Shanahan play-action offense, because I've never seen him be wrong. I've never seen him be fooled. He don't bite on play-action. He reads the guards as well as anybody. Like, they're running double and triple screens on him and it's no way to know - I'm watching the film on slow-mo three times over like, 'What was his key?' And he picked the right screen every time. I'm like, 'How the hell did you know? I can't find it.'
"JONES: He's an Engineering major.
NFL
"FOXWORTH: Ohhh."
Someone who doesn't bite on play-action? Playing for the Eagles?
Is that allowed?
Every word of Foxworth's analysis should be music to Eagles fans' ears. Not to knock T.J. Edwards, Alex Singleton, Joe Walker, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Shaun Bradley, Duke Riley - oh, you get it. No offense to any of the linebackers Eagles fans have dealt with over the last few years, but boy is it going to be nice to have a guy in the middle of the field with vision and anticipation.
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A player who can combine first round-level athleticism with that understanding of opposing offenses? Whew boy. All Dean has to do is be himself, and he's going to quickly be a fan-favorite in Philadelphia.
Pairing Dean with Kyzir White and Edwards in the linebacker room makes this easily the best crop of linebackers the Eagles have had since Mychal Kendricks and Nigel Bradham were roaming the field during the Super Bowl run.
What a steal.