Nakobe Dean responds to dropping in NFL Draft

During his career at Georgia, Nakobe Dean was known for always playing with a chip on his shoulder.

You should see the size of it now.

Projected by some as a first-round pick, there was some surprise when he wasn't taken Thursday night. Most figured it would take Dean just a handful of teams in the second round before his name was called on Friday.

Crickets.

Concern over a pec injury Dean suffered before the NFL Combine had created concern. It was not until the Philadelphia Eagles stepped up with the 83rd pick in round three that he was off the board.

“I would be remiss to say I wasn’t surprised,” Dean told Philadelphia reporters during a video conference Friday night. “But at the end of the day, I just thank God for the whole process. It’s done nothing but make my chip grow bigger. I’m ready to play, ready to get to work.”

Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman said Dean will be on the field next week when Philadelphia holds mini-camp.

“He’s going to be on the field, and we don’t anticipate him missing any time,” Roseman said. “He will take physical, and we’ll double check all those things. I think I called our doctors three, four times and asked them, ‘Am I missing something,’ because obviously he was way higher on our board.

“We get a lot of information on these guys. That’s how this rolls. It’s important we get it right. We’re excited about it. In talking with other teams, if we didn’t take him, he was [about to be] gone. There may be guys with better measurables, but this guy played at the highest level and he was the heartbeat of that team.”

Dean, who did not run the 40-yard dash at NFL Combine or at Georgia’s Pro Day in March, said he met with numerous team doctors in the weeks leading up to the draft.

Per Dean, nobody suggested surgery was needed.

“That’s what was the most surprising. I went to doctors, and nobody said I should have surgery,” Dean said. “So, for that to come up, for teams to be saying that and waiting to the day of the draft, was crazy to me. But like said, I’m an Eagle and I’m glad I got picked by a great organization.”

Roseman reiterated that his organization has absolutely no worries about Dean’s health.

“There’s no concern, none. He as a pec injury that does not require surgery per our doctors,” Roseman said. “We get a lot of information on these guys. Not just Philadelphia Eagles information, we get a lot of information, and this is how this rolls. Teams don’t do this in a vacuum, we work with other teams because it’s important to get this right.”

Roseman said the Eagles considered taking Dean with the 51st pick in the second round before settling on Nebraska center Cam Jurgens.

“Talking to Nakobe tonight," said Roseman, turning to head coach Nick Sirianni. “You’re going to have to hold his ass back.”

Dean agreed.

“I’m amped, I’m ready to go,” he said. “Minicamp is next week, and I expect to be a full participant.”

Dean smiled throughout the approximately eight-minute session with the media.

Numerous times, he was quizzed on whether he angry at the way the process played out.

“I’ll just say it was nerve-wracking, especially not knowing at all why I was falling,” he said. “But at the end of he day, I got picked by a great organization and I’m ready to go get work.”

Dean’s eyes lit up when asked about being reunited with former Bulldog teammate Jordan Davis, who the Eagles took with the 13th pick in the first round on Thursday.

“I’m very excited. It’s definitely nice to be there with someone who was with me the whole time at Georgia,” Dean said. “We share similar goals and have been with each other for so long. It’s going to be nice to be able to live out our dreams together.”