Smael Mondon, the Eagles’ latest Georgia LB draft pick, takes after ‘big brother’ Nakobe Dean
Dean was always available by phone for Mondon, a fifth-round Eagles selection who could help provide linebacker depth and help on special teams.
For the last five years, Smael Mondon has wanted to follow in the footsteps of Nakobe Dean.
The Eagles rookie linebacker out of Georgia overlapped with Dean for just one season in college, but it was an important one. He watched as Dean earned all-American honors, captained a historic Bulldogs defense, and took home the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in college football.
What followed the next few years was Mondon watching Dean and the collection of Georgia standouts on the Eagles defense from afar, periodically checking in for advice, and now rejoining a position room with the player he likens to an older sibling.
“Nakobe is like my big brother,” Mondon said Friday. “I came to Georgia as a freshman and then to see Nakobe win the Butkus, I’ve been looking up to him for many years now. So to get here and have him still leading me and guiding the way, it’s been a blessing.
“Even in general, like before I got here, I used to call Nakobe a lot. During the draft process or even when I was still playing at Georgia, he would give me little tips here and there. He’s been a real big help.”
Mondon and Dean’s friendship meant the 22-year-old came into the team’s two-day rookie minicamp last week already knowing what to expect from linebackers coach Bobby King and already a fan of Zack Baun‘s rapid rise to becoming an All-Pro inside linebacker last season.
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“I watched a lot of Eagles ball last year just because of the guys that I had on the team from Georgia,” Mondon said. “[Baun is] a really good player, really instinctive and a good leader. I feel like whenever your leadership kind of pops out on tape, it’s really noticeable.”
It also means Mondon will get yet another opportunity to emulate Dean up close after a draft process that included a handful of calls to the 24-year-old and his other former Georgia teammates.
“When I got drafted, Nakobe was the first person I called,” Mondon said. “Talking to Nakobe, talking to Nolan [Smith], talking to [Jalen Carter], talking to all of them, they’re just really telling me how everything is and making me feel comfortable.”
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Especially with Dean likely to be sidelined early next season as he recovers from a torn patellar tendon, Mondon gives the Eagles some much-needed depth at linebacker going into the summer. The fifth-round pick started 32 games during his four-year career with the Bulldogs and finished last season with 57 tackles, three sacks, and three pass breakups.
Starts aside, Mondon also said he got extensive experience contributing on special teams early in his career. Doing so again might be his quickest pathway toward playing time with the Eagles given his place on the depth chart, something Mondon said he’d welcome leading into his first practice with the team last Friday.
“Special teams is the way I got on the field at Georgia,” Mondon said. “I would have stayed on there if they would have kept me on there. Special teams is, I feel like, a lot of guys’ intro. I kind of grew a big love for special teams at UGA.”