The Las Vegas Raiders' offseason spending spree led to them bringing in two new starting linebackers, as they nabbed Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker away from the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
Even though Walker has been viewed as the riskier of the two players on the field due to how wildly volatile his style of play is, Dean may be the bigger challenge for this coaching staff due to his injury history and lack of great bulk.
According to Anthony Miller of Inside the Iggles, FanSided's Philadelphia Eagles website, Dean is the type of player who can be a lethal weapon when healthy, but the question marks surrounding him could make him a complete bust if not deployed correctly.
"There's no question that when Dean is on the field, he is explosive and dangerous," Miller said. "He was often used on blitzes up the middle, resulting in 10 pressures, six quarterback hits, and four sacks in 10 games. As long as Dean can stay healthy, the Raiders are getting a smart, instinctive, and aggressive linebacker who can make all the plays on defense against the run or pass."
Eagles expert explains how Raiders should best use Nakobe Dean
Dean is graded as the 42nd-best linebacker out of 88 in the eyes of Pro Football Focus. Those average numbers don't tell the story of a player who deals in such extremes that he must be used in a very specific way. Making him a traditional thumper between the tackles is not his game.
Although Dean was 84th in PFF's eyes in run defense, he ranked third in pass rush grade. Dean is at his best when he can fly around the field and cause havoc at the line of scrimmage, as his inability to be a run-stuffing sure-tackler on the interior made him a bad fit for some teams out there.
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Dean's size concerns (5-11, 230 pounds) make him a player who needs to have a defense built around him, lest he get exposed.
Luckily, the Raiders' huge investment in him seems to suggest that recently promoted defensive coordinator Rob Leonard has a plan that can help him get the most out of Dean's very unique skillset.
Walker and Dean could form a powerful yin-yang duo that the Raiders have lacked in the linebacker room for years to come, provided Las Vegas uses him in the same sort of way Vic Fangio did when the former was in Philadelphia.