Nakobe Dean

Nakobe Rashod Dean (born December 13, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, winning the 2021 Butkus Award before being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

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

College career As a true freshman for the Georgia Bulldogs football team, Dean recorded 25 total tackles despite battling injuries. 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. On January 15, 2022, Dean declared for the 2022 NFL draft.

Professional career 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.

Philadelphia Eagles Dean was selected in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. 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. Dean's rookie season ended with a trip to Super Bowl LVII where the Eagles lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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. He was activated on October 14, but placed back on injured reserve on November 16 with a Lisfranc injury.

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.

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. Dean was subsequently placed on injured reserve 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. Without Dean, the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX, giving Dean his first Super Bowl ring.

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

Las Vegas Raiders 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.

Career statistics

NFL Legend Won the Super Bowl Bold Career high Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2022 PHI 17 0 13 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 PHI 5 4 30 22 8 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 PHI 15 15 128 80 48 3.0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 2025 PHI 10 8 55 30 25 4.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Career 47 27 226 141 85 7.5 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5

College Season GP Tackles Sacks Interceptions Fumbles Scoring Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Yds Int Yds PD FR Yds FF TD 2019 14 14 11 25 1.5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2020 10 39 32 71 1.5 1.5 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 15 36 36 72 10.5 6 47 2 50 6 0 0 2 1 Career 39 89 79 168 14.5 7.5 56 2 50 8 0 0 3 1

Personal life Dean is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and was initiated while at Georgia. Dean's older brother, Nikolas, played tight end at Ole Miss. In 2022, Dean was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar of the Year by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.