20 May 2023 , 12:16
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The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to be the strong favourites to return to the Super Bowl again this season, and they're not playing down their chances.
The team were the surprise of the NFL last season with quarterback Jalen Hurts taking a huge step up following two disappointing first seasons after succeeding Carson Wentz.
Huge question marks were being asked on Hurts' future heading into his third season - whether he should be the man to take them forward or not. A few games into the season he had answered all those questions with the Eagles going on to make the Super Bowl, as the quarterback was rewarded last month becoming the NFL's highest-paid player.
Consequences are always prevalent after a Super Bowl appearance - with players from either team often getting picked up by rival clubs for more money. That has been the case with the Eagles - losing seven starters from last year's extremely strong team.
However, the Eagles were somehow able to pull off what many believe to be the best draft class in the entire league, including Georgia Bulldogs star's Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith - the team look to be as solid heading into the new season. That's something they are aware of, and are talking very confidently while in their off-season training programme.
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Linebacker Nakobe Dean told NFL.com : "We've got a lot of underdogs on the team, a lot of people who play with a lot of chips on their shoulders, so we'll never sit back and act like we're the one with the targets on our backs. We don't look at it like we've got the target on our back. We look at it like we're the ones out there hunting."
Dean himself is the perfect example of just why the roster in Philadelphia is so strong despite players leaving. The former Georgia linebacker was a third-round draft pick in the 2021 class, having been seen as one of the best in his position in the class.
The Eagles look like they could have the most talented defence in the league, as well as having an MVP-calibre quarterbackPlaying behind two solid players in TJ Edwards and Kyzir White, Dean played in just a limited role last season but looking extremely solid and having a year of learning the scheme and his fellow teammates - primed to now be the leader in the middle of the defence.
Dean is one of five Georgia players from the 2021 National Championship winning team on the Eagles defence, with him being the leader of that team in college - a role he could now take this season. Somehow, the Eagles were able to draft two of the best defensive players last month in Carter and Smith, who project to play a huge role in year one.
Dean was delighted to see his former college teammates join, saying: "I think our GM, Howie Roseman, did a good job drafting those guys this year. I think he picked the best available guys.
"I don't think he's got a thing for Georgia [players], especially being from Florida. I think he picked the best available guys. He called me a lot asking about those guys -- Kelee, Jalen and Nolan. I want to feel like I had something to do with it. After the draft, I sent him a little 'Go Dawgs.'"