Eagles Mailbag: The Curious Case of Nakobe Dean

The Philadelphia Eagles, along with the 31 other teams in the NFL, are gearing up for the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. During the event, teams will mingle with each other, agents and prospects as everyone searches for information ahead of the start of the new league year.

The Eagles are slated to have several notable players hit the open market, including multiple defensive starters. While many believe that linebacker Nakobe Dean will sign elsewhere in free agency, could he shock the world and return to the City of Brotherly Love?

I’ll answer that question and much more in my latest Eagles mailbag.

Vic Fangio’s uncertain future in Philadelphia should certainly factor into the team’s decision-making this offseason…which is why I dedicated an entire article to it. Yet if Jim Schwartz is set to be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator in 2027, there is certainly an argument to be made to re-sign Dean and let Jaelan Phillips walk.

Despite both players nearing their peak, they both have lengthy injury histories that’ll play a huge role in their free agent market. With that being said, I’m not sure that the Eagles will bring back either player this offseason. If Fangio’s future is uncertain at best, I can’t see how the Eagles could sign Phillips to a multi-year deal worth over $20 million annually.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure that they’ll make a significant commitment to Dean after rewarding Zack Baun and then trading up for Jihaad Campbell. While I understand that Schwartz utilizes a 4-3 defensive front, it feels like the Eagles would just roll with a more cost-controlled option such as Jeremiah Trotter Jr. or Smael Mondon Jr. in that third linebacker role.

As I mentioned above, I still can’t see the Eagles re-signing Dean this offseason. Unless his market is non-existent due to his injury history, it feels like Dean will have better options elsewhere. Both from a playing time standpoint and a salary standpoint.

Dean has earned the right to sign the best deal possible and I’m not sure that offer will exist in Philadelphia. Regarding Campbell moving to edge rusher, it doesn’t seem like Fangio thought he was a good fit there. Campbell essentially played there out of necessity early in the regular season and never really returned there again.

While he has a promising build and the potential to put on more weight, I simply don’t think that Campbell will ever be a full-time edge rusher in the NFL. He makes far more sense in the role that both Baun and himself played last season, where they’re primarily off-ball linebackers that can line-up for a few snaps per game on the edge.

The Eagles currently have just three edge rushers on their roster: Nolan Smith Jr., Jalyx Hunt and Jose Ramirez. While Philadelphia will make an attempt to re-sign Phillips, my guess is that his market will be higher than many expect it to be. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Phillips land upwards of $25 million per year.

If that is the case, my guess is that the Eagles will pivot towards a few “dart throws” on one-year deals, similar to what they did in 2025. While Joshua Uche showed flashes, Azeez Ojulari struggled to stay on the field. Then Brandon Graham came out of retirement to help along the defensive front.

Philadelphia could re-sign both Uche and Graham, while then looking to add another edge rusher with one of their four draft picks on the first two days of the 2026 NFL Draft. A rotation of Smith, Hunt, Uche, Graham and [insert rookie here] wouldn’t be ideal but it could certainly work.

If the Eagles re-sign Phillips, I would assume that they would let Reed Blankenship walk. If that was the case, Philadelphia would likely re-sign Marcus Epps as a potential starting option alongside Andrew Mukuba. Epps showed enough flashes late last season to warrant signing to a short-term, relatively cheap contract.

Re-signing Epps certainly wouldn’t prevent the Eagles from addressing safety in the 2026 NFL Draft, yet it would at least provide them with a relatively solid floor next to Mukuba. Yet the Eagles don’t have that same option to re-sign at tight end, unless Dallas Goedert has no market at all.

It wouldn’t make much sense for the Eagles to re-sign Grant Calcaterra, as he struggled as a blocker, which will likely be a key attribute in Sean Mannion’s offensive scheme. Tight end is a position that the Eagles must attack in both free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft this offseason. Signing someone like Cade Otton or Chig Okonkwo to work alongside a rookie would be a dream scenario for Philadelphia.

Assuming that the Chargers release Mekhi Becton, I’m sure that the Eagles will at least entertain the idea of bringing him back. Yet I believe that Tyler Steen played better last season than many give him credit for. It’ll all come down to what Mannion looks for in his new scheme and if Becton wants to return to the Eagles, especially given the departure of Jeff Stoutland.

While Lane Johnson’s absence was notable, Landon Dickerson played just as big of a role in Philadelphia’s offensive line struggles as anyone else last season. My guess is that both Cam Jurgens and Steen will be given the chance to start in 2026. Assuming that everyone is healthy, I could envision the Eagles utilizing the same starting unit in Week 1.

Yet that shouldn’t prevent Philadelphia from adding Johnson’s eventual replacement and depth in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft. The Eagles should be in a great position to land a promising offensive tackle in this year’s draft and there will also be opportunities to upgrade Philadelphia’s depth with signings.

While it seems like the Eagles are slated to now designate Goedert as a post-June 1st cut, I’m honestly still confused by the mechanics of it all. If his contract was rework so that Philadelphia could designate him as such, then yes, he wouldn’t be allowed to negotiate during the legal tampering window.

Yet I’m honestly not sure how much that really changes for Goedert, in the grand scheme of things. The legal tampering period is a bunch of nonsense and a lot of this stuff is hammered out at the NFL Scouting Combine and through other avenues. Regardless of what the Eagles decide to do with Goedert, he’ll have plenty of time to make a decision.

From the outside looking in, it sure seems like the Eagles are embracing an entirely new offensive scheme this offseason. Mannion obviously has a ton of connections to members of the Shanahan coaching tree and Philadelphia has been looking to dip their toe into that scheme for quite a long time.

Following last season’s stagnant offensive disaster, the Eagles are throwing Jalen Hurts into uncharted waters. Hurts has never really operated an offense such as the one that many expect Mannion to introduce in 2026.

It’s going to be a massive test for Hurts, Mannion, Nick Sirianni and everyone else involved. Yet Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie are clearly willing to live with the results of this change.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been incredibly critical of A.J. Brown’s performance on the field and how he handled himself off the field last season. Yet I have absolutely no issue with what Brown said or did during his podcast appearances during Super Bowl week. His fandom and admiration for the New England Patriots is well documented and nothing new at all.

While there are reasons to question Brown’s future in Philadelphia, what he said on any podcast during Super Bowl week are not among them. Brown actually said all of the right things to maintain a positive image and help his standing with the Eagles, which also improves his stock in potential trade talks.

Assuming that Brown remains in Philadelphia, he’ll be the projected WR1 for the Eagles. Yet given the arrival of Mannion as offensive coordinator, I could see a world where DeVonta Smith would actually lead the team in targets. While Smith has almost been neglected at times in recent years, I think he could take a massive step forward in 2026.

Since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022, Brown has surpassed 120+ targets in three of the last four seasons. Meanwhile, Smith has only surpassed 120+ targets in one of his five seasons with the Eagles. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the target share flipped between Swole Batman and Skinny Batman this upcoming season.