It’s early, but the Las Vegas Raiders have been getting good returns on free-agent signing Nakobe Dean. Through two games, the linebacker is tied for second at his position with nine ‘defensive stops’, according to Pro Football Focus, and he was especially impressive in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Dean saw four of his nine stops come against the Chargers, with three of them happening as a run defender and the other coming in coverage. His figure against the run was tied for sixth
among linebackers and one behind the five-way tie for first place (pre-Monday Night Football).
Additionally, he registered three pressures on five pass rushes (he has four on six rushes through two weeks), registering a sack and another quarterback hit in the process to be PFF’s highest-graded off-ball blitzer (88.3) in Week 2.
The former Philadelphia Eagle was all over the field last Sunday, commanding a deeper dive into the tape.
To be honest, Dean didn’t particularly stand out in coverage against the Chargers. However, he did a handful of little things to help make an impact in that phase of the game.
Here, Los Angeles comes out in an empty formation and motions a slot receiver to get the receiver matched up against Dean. Las Vegas is playing Cover 6, a split-field coverage, meaning one side of the defense is running Cover 4 while the other is in Cover 2.
A drag or crossing route is a good way for an offense to attack that because the defense is naturally going to be out of sync since they technically have two play calls going on, making it difficult to pass off and pick up routes from one side to the other. On top of that, the offense gets the matchup it wants with a speedy slot receiver on a linebacker.
However, Dean does an excellent job of using his hands in coverage to get physical with the wideout in the five-yard window, slowing the wideout down. Aided by good coverage across the board, that takes quarterback Justin Herbert’s third option in the progression away. So, Herbert has to scramble and ends up gaining just a yard or two on second-and-long, setting up third-and-long for the defense.
This time, we’ll take a look at the linebacker’s lone coverage stop and, more than anything, it’s sound situational awareness.
The Raiders are up by two possessions with about three minutes left on the clock, and the defense is just trying to keep everything in front of them to avoid giving up the big play, especially since it’s first-and-15. They play Cover 6 against an empty formation again, essentially putting Dean on an island in the middle of the field as the hook defender.
He gets to his landmark and wisely stays deep in his zone to make sure nothing goes over his head, leaving the check down open underneath. Once Herbert dumps it off to Ladd McConkey, Herbert’s No. 1 receiver, Dean rallies to the ball and makes a nice open-field tackle to prevent any yards after the catch. That keeps the clock moving while simultaneously keeping Los Angeles’ offense behind the sticks.
Now, let’s take a look at Dean’s best pass-rush rep from Sunday.
Rob Leonard has him on the line of scrimmage for a five-man front and on the opposite side of Maxx Crosby. Since the Chargers don’t want to give Crosby a one-on-one opportunity, the running back stays in the protection scheme while the center turns right toward Crosby. That sets up a three-on-three matchup between the back, left guard and left tackle against Dean, Jonah Laulu and Malcolm Koonce.
Meanwhile, Leonard calls a stunt/twist with the linebacker and defensive tackle. Dean disguises it well by taking his first step upfield before pivoting to attack the guard, catching the offensive lineman off-guard and getting him off-balance while freeing up Laulu as the looper. Then the running back and guard aren’t on the same page, with both of them picking up Laulu, freeing up Dean to speed up Herbert’s process and get a quarterback hit.
All of that being said, the $36 million linebacker makes his money as a run defender, and unsurprisingly, that’s where he had his biggest impact against the Chargers.
The situation here is important to note. Los Angeles is backed up in its own end zone and facing a second-and-18 after Eric Stokes’ strip-sack. So, Vegas’ primary goal defensively is to limit the damage and ensure the offense is facing a third-and-long since the unit already got the negative play, meaning the backers can afford to be a little more patient against the run.
The Chargers come out in 21 personnel and motion the fullback to create another potential gap between the tight end and left tackle that the Raiders have to account for. Additionally, the subtle motion makes it look like the play call is for iso, likely with the idea that Dean will see it and immediately crash downhill to take on the fullback in the hole and fill the gap. However, watch the running back’s path, as this is just a simple halfback dive.
Meanwhile, Dean bumps over with the fullback’s motion to account for the extra gap in case it is iso. But he doesn’t crash downhill, recognizing the situation, and keeps his eyes on the running back. That allows him to mirror the running back and avoid the trash while scraping over the top of the formation against the halfback dive.
Additionally, Dean gets his hands up to take on the left guard and defeat that block, making the tackle to keep Los Angeles behind the sticks. So, while this is a gain of six yards, the Raiders get what they want with the Chargers facing a third and 12.
This is an interesting play call from Leonard. It’s third-and-two with the Raiders up three and about nine minutes left on the clock. But he puts Dean on the line of scrimmage with Quay Walker mirroring the tight end/slot receiver across the formation, meaning no one is on the second level. Leonard also blitzes Jeremy Chinn off the edge and runs a couple of line games, almost like he was expecting a pass.
However, the Chargers end up running inside split zone out of the shotgun. With Dean and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway executing a twist, Hemingway vacates the playside A-gap while Laulu and Crosby run a T/E stunt on the other side. In other words, this play has the potential to go very poorly for the Raiders.
Nonetheless, Dean gets his hands up to take on the guard while looping inside and facing a combo block from the backside guard and tackle. That actually helps him get into the playside A-gap, where Hemingway was, and he does a great job of coming to balance and getting his feet underneath him right before the tackle attempt to have enough power to stuff the running back in the hole for no gain.
So, a play that could have been a conversion ends with a stop and the punt team coming onto the field.
We’ll end with the play you’ve probably been waiting for: the forced fumble that clinched the win for the Silver and Black!
The Chargers’ play design is pretty similar to the halfback dive discussed above. Instead of a fullback, they motion a tight end across the formation and have him block the edge, with the left tackle’s help, while Dean widens with the tight end to protect against an outside run. However, Los Angeles is running duo, which is designed to hit downhill (similar to a halfback dive).
So, the B-gap is open for a second. But Dean keeps his eyes in the backfield and adjusts to the running back’s path, moving laterally to avoid getting caught in the trash and working over the top of the left tackle’s block, who is late to the second level with defensive end Kwity Paye pinching hard inside on the tight end.
As a result, the linebacker is able to beat the tackle’s block and punches the ball out, creating the turnover that set up the touchdown for the Raiders to take a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter.
Dean also had an impressive outing against the Dolphins, so he’s two-for-two when it comes to having a good game while wearing the Silver and Black. More than anything, his instincts and football IQ have really been impactful for Las Vegas’ defense, something that was missing from the position group a year ago.
