Nakobe Dean has been a can’t-miss prospect since his high school days in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Dean was the nation’s No. 2 inside linebacker prospect and the state’s No. 1 prospect for the class of 2019, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Dean surprisingly slid to Round 3, due to a reported “severe pec strain.” Friday night, Dean was finally selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 83 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Sure, Dean is a bit smaller than other linebackers at 5-foot-11 and 229 pounds, but his nose for the football and fantastic technique more than make up for it.
Dean has been compared to 2 current — Roquan Smith and Devin Bush — NFL linebackers and 1 former NFL linebacker — Jesse Tuggle. He’s a really good tackler; however, he also has enough speed to cover running backs out of the backfield.
Georgia destroyed Michigan in the College Football Playoff, and the one play that comes to mind — that shows off Dean’s tremendous ability — is below. Dean comes across the field to make the tackle on a running back who’s trying to get outside and turn the corner.
Today @JC1053 said his three early draft crushes at pick 24 were Tyler Linderbaum, Nakobe Dean, and Kenyon Green.
Here’s a look at Nakobe Dean against Michigan: pic.twitter.com/OeTKtPOnJs
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) January 22, 2022
Following his impressive 2021 campaign helping lead Georgia to the national title, Dean was the 2021 Butkus Award Winner and was a First-Team All-American.
Dean has all the makings of a fabulous NFL career ahead of him.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
