One of the biggest surprises in April's 2022 NFL Draft was when then-Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean was still on the board for the Philadelphia Eagles to select him in the third round.
It was confusing because, at the time, Dean had been considered a top draft prospect by many who would easily fall in the first round.
That was until reports of injury concerns surfaced after teams got hold of his medical records.
Knowing this, the Eagles elected to draft him anyway.
One of the injuries listed on his medical records included a pectoral injury that he opted to not have surgery on.
After the draft, however, Dean was adamant that the pec injury and the other unknown injuries were minor and simply nothing to worry about.
But who really knows? The Eagles do. But maybe they believed him enough after watching him play through 36 games in three years at UGA.
They also thought they were getting a "steal" with Dean still available when they took him in the third round. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.
Two major injury setbacks later in just his second NFL season and first year as a full-time starter, and the Eagles are in trouble.
Now, they'll fall back on Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow to fill Dean's void at middle linebacker. And after that, they'll have to re-address the position in the 2024 NFL Draft.
More must-reads: