3 Eagles Draft Picks Who Are Officially Busts Following 2023 Season

The Philadelphia Eagles ended the 2023 season on a sour note, losing six out of their last seven games, which included a disappointing showing in the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Eagles called upon a ton of young players this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, who made plays when the opportunity presented itself. Philadelphia now heads into a pivotal offseason where they are projected to have nine picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, which they need to hit on to extend their Super Bowl window.

However, with the draft still a couple of months away, it’s a good time to look back at some of the draft picks the Eagles made over the last few weeks that haven’t panned out with another season in the books.

1. Nakobe Dean

It’s tough to put Dean on this list because this was supposed to be the season that he took off and helped the Eagles figure out their linebacker situation. However, the young linebacker only played in five games in 2023 before being placed on season-ending IR with a foot injury.

Eagles fans expected big things from the former Georgia linebacker this season after spending most of his time on special teams as a rookie. However, the injury bug reared its ugly head and shut down Dean for most of the season.

The 23-year-old linebacker had 30 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a half sack. Dean’s best game of the 2023 campaign was in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders, where he posted 13 combined tackles and two tackles for loss.

Heading into next season, the Eagles hope that Dean can stay healthy and play an integral part in Vic Fangio’s defense. However, the organization will attempt to add some depth and talent to the linebacker room as the Eagles struggled without Dean this season.

It also doesn't help Dean's case that some of his draft classmates such as Leo Chenal, Terrel Bernard, Micah McFadden, and Damone Clark, who were drafted after him, had successful second years in the NFL.