The clock struck 12 p.m. ET and teams were firing on all cylinders to get legal agreements done as quickly as possible, and Howie Roseman remained quiet. There was a dreaded reality that Eagles fans were hoping to avoid, but unfortunately, that reality kicked in. The first signing that disappointed Eagles fans was an agreement made between T.J. Edwards and the Chicago Bears. The two sides agreed to the terms of a three-year, $19.5 million contract. Maybe it wasn’t the most prominent departure, but Eagles fans knew how important Edwards was the to the defense. Quickly after, an expected, yet unexpected signing absolutely gutted fans of Philadelphia. And this one hurt.
It was expected that Javon Hargrave would play football elsewhere following this offseason; it was unexpected that he would sign a four-year, $84 million deal with San Francisco 49ers. The rich do indeed get richer. Just in this case, it wasn’t the Eagles who got richer, it was arguably a better defense. Nonetheless, Roseman has the Eagles prepared.
Take it back to the 2022 NFL Draft. A trade alert pops up on the screen and all of a sudden, the Eagles are sitting at pick 13. They moved up two spots. Kyle Hamilton was sitting there and there was a dire need for a safety. Instead, the Eagles selected the behemoth DT out of Georgia, Jordan Davis. Fast forward two rounds later, and the team lands a linebacker they were being projected to take in the first round. Nakobe Dean was knocked for an injury that had teams believing he wouldn’t be ready to play, yet he was ready at the start of training camp. The two played together on a stellar Georgia defense that had previously won the National Championship. Due to their stand alone abilities, and their chemistry on the field, the two should be able to fill the role Hargrave and Edwards have left.
“Oh yeah, we definitely have a special chemistry,” Dean said in regard to him and Davis. “We know what makes each other go, we already know what makes each other tick; we’re already bonded. It’s easier with him.”
Davis and Dean saw limited action in their first season, but their played showed promise. Davis played in 13 games while Dean appeared in 17. It’s hard to miss #90 on the field. He towers over the competition. You saw him stuffing the run. You saw him be a disruptor. But Dean is smaller. Maybe he wasn’t noticed as often as Davis was, but the Eagles noticed. That’s why they feel comfortable moving forward with him. This story is told in their silence after day one of free agency. I’m sure the Eagles could have afforded Edwards for $19.5 million over three seasons, but they let him walk. Dean was a leader at Georgia. He held players accountable. He flies around the field making every kind of play that can be made on defense.
“I’m accustomed to watching Nakobe flying around, making plays,” Davis said. “He’s going to excel at this level. He’s going to learn… Just to see him do that, to have us possibly become a 1-2 tandem, it’d be a pretty amazing feat that we can carry from college.”
Moreover, their production is not there yet. They need to step up to fill the holes left on defense. But it starts with them. They’ll get the opportunity to start and show fans and the front office that they can be what they were at Georgia; a duo that wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks. They’re the centerpiece for not only the Eagles’ defensive success next season, but also in the future.
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