Even though Nakobe Dean hasn\u2019t been able to practice yet this summer as he rehabs from a torn patellar tendon, he has been a huge resource for the Eagles\u2019 rookie linebackers.<\/p>\n
Including his fellow Georgia Bulldog Smael Mondon Jr.<\/p>\n
The Eagles\u2019 fifth-round linebacker has gotten off to a good start this summer and has been learning all he can from Dean.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot. I be asking Nakobe a lot of questions,\u201d Mondon said. \u201cI be trying to not like annoy him and ask him stuff. I be picking his brain a lot because Nakobe is real smart. Even at Georgia, I was doing the same thing. So to get here and see how much he\u2019s learned and the game he\u2019s willing to give me as a younger guy in the room. Nakobe\u2019s been great being able to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because he\u2019s not on the field yet, Dean has a different perspective on practice and is able to provide a view that\u2019s almost like one a coach would have. Mondon explained that sometimes when you\u2019re actually on the field, it\u2019s hard to see the full picture.<\/p>\n
Dean is able to see it all and it\u2019s been helping Mondon and the other rookies as they get acclimated to the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cNakobe, in general, he just kind of has a coach\u2019s mindset to him,\u201d Mondon said. \u201cHim being off the field, seeing that, he\u2019s been able to help me whether I do something bad in a rep, he\u2019s helping me, telling me what I can fix or if I do something good, he\u2019s telling me what I could do better or how to keep improving at it. He\u2019s been a big help for real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only has Dean missed the first six days of training camp on the PUP list but Zack Baun has missed the last two practices with a back contusion. That means that Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jihaad Campbell have been getting the bulk of the first-team reps but Mondon has mixed in too and has performed well.<\/p>\n
Realistically, Mondon\u2019s role as a rookie is going to be as a special teams player, but he\u2019s already proving that he can provide the Eagles with some much-needed linebacker depth in 2025. The Eagles are noticeably deeper at linebacker going into this season than they have been in a long time.<\/p>\n
The Eagles already had Baun and Trotter, and they\u2019ll eventually get Dean back from his injury. And then they drafted Campbell in the first round and Mondon in the fifth. Even undrafted Lance Dixon out of Toledo has had some strong moments throughout the first week or so of camp.<\/p>\n
Mondon is still learning a ton but has settled into a routine six practices into training camp.<\/p>\n
What has he tried to work on most?<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, the first couple days just really making sure I learned everything in the playbook,\u201d Mondon said, \u201cbecause you\u2019re not going to be able to play confidently if you don\u2019t really know what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo just getting a good footing and building that foundation. I\u2019m really trying to work on now playing looser and not being as timid, not being as afraid to make mistakes. Just being more confident my ability and being able to play fast and free. But that comes with being confident in the playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even though Nakobe Dean hasn\u2019t been able to practice yet this summer as he rehabs from a torn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,21754,7,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-253425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-eagles-training-camp","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-philadelphia","13":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","14":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114953831443830940","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}