Nakobe Dean

Dean played high school football at Horn Lake High School. As a senior, he won the High School Butkus Award.^[1] As a five-star recruit, Dean committed to Georgia after receiving offers from Ole Miss and Alabama.^[2]

As a true freshman for the Georgia Bulldogs football team, Dean recorded 25 total tackles despite battling injuries.^[3] In 2021, he won the Butkus Award given annually to college football's best linebacker and finished the season as a key member of the team that won the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.^[4][5][6] On January 15, 2022, Dean declared for the 2022 NFL draft.^[7]

Dean was invited to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He performed limited positional drills due to an injury (a torn pectoral muscle) that he suffered while training for the NFL draft.^[8]

Dean was selected in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.^[12] His draft-day slide was considered surprising, but NFL analyst Ian Rapoport pointed out that teams were reportedly concerned about Dean's size, and his decision to opt against getting surgery to repair his pectoral injury. Dean appeared in all 17 games as a rookie and mainly played on special teams.^[13] Dean's rookie season ended with a trip to Super Bowl LVII where the Eagles lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs.^[14]

Dean entered the 2023 season as the Eagles starting middle linebacker. He suffered a foot injury in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve on September 12, 2023.^[15] He was activated on October 14, but placed back on injured reserve on November 16 with a Lisfranc injury.^[16]

On November 3, 2024, during a Week 9 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dean recorded his first career interception to effectively win the game, 28–23.^[17]

On January 12, 2025, Dean tore the patellar tendon in his left knee after tackling Tucker Kraft of the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card playoff game. Dean was carted off the field and Oren Burks, who forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the game, subbed in for him.^[18] Dean was subsequently placed on injured reserve^[19] and was confirmed to be out for the rest of the playoffs. As a result, the Eagles signed Nicholas Morrow to the practice squad on January 14, while Burks replaced Dean as a starter for the rest of the playoffs.^[20] Without Dean, the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX, giving Dean his first Super Bowl ring.^[21]

On October 9, 2025, Dean was activated from the PUP list ahead of the team's Week 6 matchup against the New York Giants.^[22]

On March 11, 2026, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Dean to a three-year, $36 million contract that included $23 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.75 million.^[23]