Nakobe Dean's style of football makes him one of one

Sep 24, 2026 at 10:18 AM

Raiders Columnist

Nakobe Dean announced his arrival to Raiders training camp on social media by posting a pair of beat-up black Nike Air Force 1s on his IG feed, the left shoe tied, the right shoe, not so much.

Message?

"To put it in simple terms, it's a mindset thing," Dean told me Wednesday. "I like to attack the way I play the game. In the game we got now, they try to take a lot of the physical aspect away from the game in the NFL, with all the rules and everything. But you've got to remember - it's still a violent game, you know, and I still play it like that.

"But it's something that's been [my] mindset since I was in high school and growing up and everything. I always had, I always wore, black Forces."

So, if I'm walking down the street and I see someone coming toward me rocking those shoes, should I cross the street?

Dean did not pause.

"Yeah, depends on where you at," he laughed. "Depends on where you at. And it depends on if I've got them tied up or not."

View this post on Instagram

Dean found himself in an old haunt of Raider Nation on Sunday - Los Angeles - and the linebacker announced his SoCal arrival thusly - nine tackles, six solo, half a sack, two quarterback hits and a game-changing forced fumble.

Yes, the Chargers should have crossed the street from SoFi Stadium to the Fabulous Forum as it was exactly the kind of Tour de Force the Raiders hoped for when they signed Dean to a multi-year free-agent contract this spring.

The kind of impact he and the Raiders expect him to continue to have in New Orleans this Sunday.

"He's a great football player and he's a great teammate," said edge rusher Maxx Crosby. "So anytime you bring guys like that, with a winning pedigree, that are foxhole guys that are going to fly around and put their body on the line, the more guys you have like that around, the more success your defense is going to have."

Yes, it's contagious, this different type of energy Dean has brought to the Raiders' reimagined defense.

"That's what you need," Crosby said. "You need a lot of guys that are willing to go to a place that most people won't. And when you have that, it's easy to show up to work and enjoy every moment, because you know they're all in with it."

As Crosby mentioned, Dean came to the Raiders with a winning pedigree. At just 25 years old, he has already won both a national championship in college at Georgia and a Super Bowl with the Eagles.

In fact, he is one of five former Georgia Bulldogs on the Raiders roster, along with fellow free-agent linebacker Quay Walker, cornerback Eric Stokes, tight end Brock Bowers and practice squad defensive end Azeez Ojulari.

Yes, they are all in their prime. And all but Bowers have been on playoff teams, so they know what winning looks like. Plus, Dean and Walker already have a synergistic relationship…even if their coming to Las Vegas were mutually exclusive decisions.

"Oh, we really didn't know that we both [were] coming here," Dean said. "We talked about playing on the same squad, but we really didn't necessarily think it would happen.

"So when I told him, 'Yeah, I'm coming to the Raiders,' he was like, 'You're lying.' He told me he was coming too. But it's a blessing just to be able to be back out there with somebody I call my brother."

Twins, though?

Consider: Walker holds the team-lead in tackles with 16 while Dean, who wears the green dot on defense, has 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Raiders (2-0) will need similar production against the Saints (1-1) in what promises to be a raucous Superdome for New Orleans' home opener.

Especially with the weapons the Saints have on offense in quarterback Tyler Shough, running backs Travis Etienne Jr. and Alvin Kamara and receiver Chris Olave.

Still, Dean has an inkling of what Saints coach Kellen Moore may be cooking up in the Big Easy, what with Dean having gone against Moore's offense in Philadelphia when Dean was an Eagles linebacker and Moore was the Eagles OC in 2024.

"From what I've seen," Dean said, "I'm expecting him to do what he do - try to establish a run game, try to make it easy for the quarterback and try to continue to get his playmakers the ball."

All while Dean diagnoses the Saints in the din of the Superdome and leads the revamped Raiders defense.

"I guess my superpower [is] trying to make those around me better, day in and day out," he said. "And I do it in my way. Not trying to do it anybody else's way or do it in a way that anybody else would think it looks like.

"I just do it in my way, trying to make those around me better while I also continue to try to strive to be the best version of myself daily."

Black Air Force 1s optional.