Q. From your perspective in your words, where do you stand health-wise and why do you think you dropped in the Draft?
NAKOBE DEAN: I'm ready to go. I know mini-camp is next week and I expect to be a full participant for that and why I dropped, it's not in my control. Nothing I can do. I couldn't -- nothing I could do to make them pick me earlier. Just grateful and pleased that I have this opportunity.
Q. Wondering what it was like for you to keep waiting for your name to be called. How difficult was that for you? I know at the Combine people were talking about you as a first-round pick and you are here in the third round and everything. What was that like?
NAKOBE DEAN: It was definitely nerve-wracking, especially not knowing exactly all the way why I was falling like that. But you know, at the end of the day, I feel like I got picked by a great organization and I'm just ready to work.
Q. Wanted to know how excited you are that you get to come to Philadelphia with your teammates, Jordan Davis?
NAKOBE DEAN: I'm very excited. It will be nice coming down there with somebody with me the whole time who shares the similar goals and just been with each other for so long. It will be nice for us to live our dream out together.
Q. Everybody through the pre-Draft process was talking about how much of a leader you were. Is there anybody you draw that inspiration of being a leader or anyone you try to emulate?
NAKOBE DEAN: As far as emulate, there's nobody I try to emulate. I feel like I lead the way I do from -- I'm not the biggest rah-rah guy. I'm going to say what's on my mind or what gets the job done. At the end of the day, I feel like the only thing that matters is winning games. It's the only thing that matters. I feel whatever we got to do to win games is what I'm for.
Q. Has that always been the case with you? Have you always been a leader growing up? When did that start for you?
NAKOBE DEAN: I mean, as far as I feel like you kind of get put into the position to do it. For me, definitely, you go in wanting to be great and you want to do something special. In high school, I kind of fell into the position that I had to go and do it, and in college they expected me to do that and be in that leadership position. It kind of stuck with me since.
Q. As far as going down the board a little bit, were you surprised that these medicals came up with they did, and were you in Vegas for the first round?
NAKOBE DEAN: Oh, yeah. I'm still in Vegas now. But yeah, I mean, I am -- I'd be remiss to say that I wasn't surprised. But at the end of the day, you know, thank God for the whole process. It's done nothing but make my chip grow bigger and I'm just ready to play. Ready to get to work.
Q. If I can follow up, how much pre-Draft interaction did you have with the Eagles?
NAKOBE DEAN: We had a couple meetings. We talked.
Q. We just met with Nick Sirianni, and he was hyped to add you to the team. What are your interactions like and what relationship do you see that can come about from you being with the Eagles?
NAKOBE DEAN: As far as me being with the Eagles, I feel like we can do great things together, great things as a whole organization, and me as an individual and us as a defense and us as a defense, you know. I always got big goals for myself, got big goals for my team, so I feel like we can do great things as far as being one of the best defense to ever come through football ever.
Q. What's it like when people are saying stuff like you're not going to play this year or you might be in a redshirt year and you hear this stuff? What's it like to hear this stuff that you know is not true?
NAKOBE DEAN: That was the nerve-wracking part about it, the whole thing. You know, listening to things that's not true and it's caused me a lot of money, a lot of -- seeing my mama face and for me fall in the head and things like that, that was the biggest thing.
But at the end of the day I feel like I'm blessed. I feel like I got picked by a great organization, and I'm ready to work.
Q. Did you know teams were so concerned? The story is, I guess, that you strained your pec getting ready for the Combine and you decided not to have surgery. Did anybody say you should have surgery? Did teams talk to you about surgery or anything like that?
NAKOBE DEAN: That was the thing that was so surprising and mind-boggling. It was never -- I went to doctors, got second opinions and everything, and nobody, nobody said I should have surgery. Nobody had told me I had to have surgery.
So for that to come up and for teams to be saying that and waiting for the Draft to say something like that, that was crazy to me.
But like I said, I'm glad to be Eagle and glad I got picked by a great organization, and I'm ready to work.
Q. Your scouting reports include these impressive GPAs. You studied mechanical engineering. How does the non-football intelligence help you on the field? The academic background, how does that help you on the field?
NAKOBE DEAN: I feel like for the most part, the study, the studying aspect of what I have to do off the field translates to me in football, having to put in the hours and hours to watch the film to make sure I'm going watch the film until I feel like I'm ready is never a set time. It's always you're going to watch the film and you're going to work until you feel you're ready as far as the playbook, you know, I'm ready to dive into it. I feel like that is what helps me the most.
Q. With Jordan, having played behind him, what is it like for a linebacker to play behind a guy of his size, what does he do for you?
NAKOBE DEAN: Definitely he kind of clears things up for me. Had me run a little bit more. He makes it easy for everybody, if you ask me, not just for the linebackers but for the rest of the D-Line and for the secondary. I feel like having him there is going great.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports ....
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports