The Las Vegas Raiders needed a lot of help at linebacker heading into free agency, leading the front office to add former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean to the roster.
Dean has battled injuries throughout his career, missing 21 regular-season games over four years and all but one postseason contest during the Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run. Obviously, staying healthy has been a challenge, but he’s a good player when on the field and brings over a versatile skillset.
While 2025 was a down year for the former Georgia Bulldog as a run defender, posting a career low 42.4 grade in that department from Pro Football Focus, he ranked 15th among linebackers with an 80.4 mark during the 2024 regular season. The biggest reason for that is he recorded the third-most ‘defensive stops’ (38) and had the second-highest run stop percentage (12.5 percent) at the position.
Against the passing game, Dean doesn’t have much ball production with just one interception and five passes defended in his career. However, he’s excellent at clicking and closing in coverage, racking up 18 stops in 2024 (tied for 17th among linebackers) and 13 in 2025 (tied for 35th). The latter may not seem like much, but he only played in nine games. Additionally, the 2022 third-round pick offers value as a blitzer. He’s notched seven sacks and 24 pressures on just 96 pass-rush snaps, per PFF, over the last two seasons combined.
With those numbers in mind, let’s take a look at the tape.
While Dean’s ability to impact the passing game as a blitzer was mentioned above, he’s also an asset in the run game when coming downhill.
Here, the Eagles have him blitz and attack the playside A-gap. Right before the point of contact, the linebacker does a good job of turning his shoulders to get skinny, which gives the center less surface area to block. That allows Dean to beat the center’s block and force the running back to cut backside on the split zone call, effectively doing his job.
However, Dean gets some extra credit here by sticking out his arm and having the strength to bring the running back down for a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Granted, he got away with a facemask here, but it’s only a penalty if the referees call it, and he effectively takes away two gaps from the offense.
Additionally, the 2021 Butkus Award winner’s instincts can help him be an asset as a run defender.
In the play above, Los Angeles disguises a wham or trap concept by having the playside of the offensive line (center, right guard and right tackle) block like it’s inside zone while the running back also steps to the right and attacks downhill. That can lead to the linebackers getting caught in the trash or out of position because they flow with the inside zone action, only for the running back to cut backside.
However, Dean recognizes that the tight end in motion is working back across the formation to wham or trap the 3-technique defensive tackle. So, the linebacker adjusts his path to mirror the running back and backfield action, right before beating the center’s block to get penetration and be involved in the tackle right at the line of scrimmage.
The reason why I’m bullish on Dean’s ability to play the run despite having a down year in 2025 is that he has good instincts (as seen in the previous play) and is consistent about taking on blocks with his hands. The rep above highlights both of those aspects of his game, especially the latter.
Green Bay runs duo where the right tackle and extra offensive lineman/tight end combo block the defensive end before the right tackle works up to the second level. Post-snap, Dean takes a step downhill but makes sure that he doesn’t crash too hard to avoid the trash, so that he can attack the right tackle while still being in a position to escape the block and make the tackle.
At the point of contact, he’s quick to get his hands up and is physical with the lineman so that the lineman can’t get into his body. Meanwhile, Dean has his eyes in the backfield and sees running back Josh Jacobs attack the A-gap once the nose tackle gets scooped by the center and right guard. Because Dean never lets the right tackle get a clean block on him, he’s able to mirror Jacobs and make a tackle outside of his assignment/gap for a short gain.
Had the linebacker not been there, Jacobs had a crease in the middle of the defense that would have resulted in an explosive play. This is a good example of how Dean can combine his physical tools and football IQ to avoid being a robot and make a play that prevents a potential momentum shift in the game.
As referenced above, the free-agent signing isn’t someone who is going to prevent many completions in coverage. But he is pretty impressive when it comes to closing and limiting gains after the catch.
The Packers are in a two-minute drill right before halftime, while the Eagles drop into Cover 2 here. That puts Dean as the middle hook defender in the play call, and he does a good job of getting to his depth and staying deep to help discourage a shot down the field. Once the quarterback checks it down to Jacobs, that’s when the linebacker pounces, showing impressive acceleration to make contact shortly after the ball arrives and come up with the tackle for a short gain.
Dean’s tape is littered with plays like this in coverage, as he’s pretty consistent in this area.
Finally, we’ll wrap up with my favorite part of Dean’s game: his ability to destroy running backs when blitzing through the A-gap as a pass-rusher. According to Next Gen Stats, the former Eagle has the NFL’s highest sack rate (7.9 percent) of any player to rush the passer at least 80 times since 2024, and by nearly 2.5 percentage points. The clip above explains why.
To be honest, there isn’t much to break down here. Dean fails to time the snap, as he’s likely looking to hit the gap at full speed rather than having to pull up near the line of scrimmage pre-snap. However, that doesn’t matter because he has great leverage and hand placement while uncorking his hips at the point of contact against Chargers’ rookie running back Omarion Hampton.
That results in the linebacker blowing up Hampton’s block before swiping at the ball in the quarterback’s hands to get a strip sack and create a turnover. More than anything, that’s just pure physical dominance.
The biggest factor in Dean’s success in Las Vegas is whether he can stay healthy. Because when he’s on the field, he can impact every phase of the game and do just about anything a linebacker is asked to do. The problem is that staying out of the training room has proven to be a challenge so far in his career, but the Raiders did get a “do-it-all” type of linebacker by signing the four-year veteran in free agency.
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