Measurables
UNIVERSITY- Georgia AGE- CLASS- JR
HEIGHT-6’0” WEIGHT- 225 ARM LENGTH-
40 Time- 3 CONE- VERTICAL- BROAD JUMP- BENCH PRESS-
Overview
Nakobe Dean was an extremely highly touted 5-star recruit out of Horn Lake High School in Mississippi. There he earned the Butkus award as the nation’s best prep LB. Dean also played RB as well as basketball, baseball and was a member of the track team in high school. In 2019 as a true freshman, Nakobe appeared in all 14 games but only in a limited role. He finished that season with 25 tackles, 1.5 TFL. In 2020 though Dean really hit his stride, finishing with a team high 71 tackles and 13 QB pressures in 10 starts. He was recognized as a semifinalist for the Butkus award (top collegiate LB) for his efforts in 2020. In 2021 Nakobe was able to bring home the Butkus and was named finalists and semifinalists for a handful of other awards. Starting all 15 games in Georgia’s campaign for a national title, Dean finished with 72 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 2 FF, 2 ints (1 TD), 6 PBUs and 31 QB pressures. Nakobe also was a consistent academic standout in both high school and the collegiate level.
Strengths
Dean has explosive speed at the LB position that jumps out at you. Elite sideline to sideline speed and quickness. Agile loose hips to work into his drops in zone coverage. He’s quite literally an eraser for RBs trying to catch passes out of the backfield. Dean mirrors backs perfectly and forces many incomplete passes, and short to no gain plays when targeted. He even managed to pick off a pass in the flats against Florida and return it for 6. If a team tried to spread out Georgia, they had no issue playing Dean in what looked like a dime safety role, you would see him way out wide of the formation covering backs out wide. Despite his lack of size he takes on blocks really well inside the tackles and limits ball carriers to short gains. He hits with a good amount of force and doesn’t get driven back on tackle attempts. He excels as a blitzer no matter if it’s off the edge or screaming up the middle. Dean is a 3 down linebacker who could and likely will become a difference maker on passing downs. No matter if that’s as a blitzer or in coverage, he will make plays. He’s a guy who sees the play very quickly and he attacks. Someone I would characterize as a guy who plays like his hair is on fire. He played amazing in the big games this year as well (really every game I watched of him he played amazing). Great consistency on a snap to snap basis. You saw him consistently calling out D Line shifts and relaying coverages to the DBs. You’d have better success running right at him than away from him because he will chase about any play down. Great tackler.
Weaknesses/Room for Improvement
There’s not a whole lot to poke holes about in Dean’s game but unfortunately he didn’t hit the genetic lottery when it comes to size. He’s a short LB with short arms and is light for his position as well. Short arm length can typically lead to missed tackles at the next level, as well as make it harder to get off blocks against elite talent. As far as the size, it will likely limit his playing career to fewer years so it’s always something to think about with positions like LB. I felt he was an elite at covering RBs at the backfield but his lack of size will limit his ability to cover TEs over the middle of the field. He has room to grow in zone coverage down the field. Right now he’s more of a downhill player but he has potential he has yet to fully unlock completely in coverage. He can sometimes get lost behind linemen on misdirection plays and end up taking himself out of the play. Didn’t happen very often though. The fact that he played behind 3 potential first round guys on his D line is certainly something that has to be considered. He may have more talent on his D Line at Georgia than whoever drafts him in the first round depending on where he goes. You have to wonder how well he will fare if those run fits get a little more messy at the next level. Even though he did a decent job of fighting through and around blocks, the cleaner the run fit, the better for him.Dean could have made more TFL and sacks if he was able to break down on his tackle attempts a little better. At times he played too fast for his own good, the ball carrier would make a slight move to avoid him and he’d be unable to recover and make the play.
Scheme fit ?
Scheme flexible. 4-3 OLB would be the best fit though.
Round Grade
1st Round elite talent despite the size