Draft Focus: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

There's a lot to love.

🗽Good morning Jets fans and welcome to Thursday’s edition of TJW. I wasn’t sure what to write about today, I was going to leave the Nakobe Dean report until tomorrow but having finished watching as much tape as possible, and Dean having won the poll posted on the TJW Twitter account, I thought why wait?

Some prospects come out of nowhere, flying up draft boards during their Junior or Senior campaigns, Dean isn’t one of those players.

Slated as a potential 5* prospect early in his high school career, Dean was rated as the 19th best prospect in the country back in his 2019 recruiting class, the best prospect in Mississippi state, and the 2nd best linebacker behind Brandon Smith of Penn State, a player likely to be taken in the 2nd-3rd round range in this upcoming 2022 NFL Draft.

In his final year in high school, Dean was named as Mississippi’s Mr. Football for 6A and he would end his HS career racking up 438 tackles, 61.5 tackles for a loss, 18 sacks, 6 interceptions, and 12 total touchdowns. Nakobe had over 20 offers which included pretty much every major college football program in the country. He was a wanted man.

Charles Power, a national writer for 247 recruiting had this to say about Dean while he was still in high school:

“Already close to filled out on a compact frame. Thick lower body and carries 220 pounds well. Among the most athletic linebackers in the nation with high-level short-area quickness and burst. Pairs intelligence and instincts with athletic ability and toughness. Highly active at inside linebacker. Has very good recognition skills and triggers quickly. Easily runs sideline to sideline. Lacks some length in coverage with his smaller frame and can continue to improve his tackling form. Projects as a multi-year impact Power 5 starter and should be a very good special teams player early in his college career”

Within that paragraph is the main negative, for some the only negative about Dean. Georgia list the linebacker at 6’0 and 225lbs, not much bigger than most safeties and 4 inches shorter and 5 lbs heavier than Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Now the size is a concern to an extent, but Dean doesn’t play small, and he actually uses the size to his advantage when rushing the passer which we’ll see in some clips.

I’m not too concerned about the size, he’s a touch shorter than you’d like as length plays a part in coverage. But Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah came in at 215lbs, Matt Milano is listed as 223lbs, Shaq Thomson is 6’0 and 230lbs and all three of those guys are regarded as top 20 linebackers in the league, our very own Quincy Williams is 5’11 and 226lbs. Some small players play small, which causes issues, some small players play big, that’s Nakobe Dean.

To walk into a program like Georgia and play significant minutes is impressive for anyone, five stars or not, and Dean was on the field a lot for the Bulldogs in 2019. He’s improved every year since, culminating in an outstanding 2021 where he made play after play, including 10.5 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, and 2 interceptions. He may have saved his best game for the Orange Bowl where he not only contributed a key sack but ran the length of the field to make an outstanding TFL.

What often doesn’t get mentioned with Dean is that he’s never allowed a touchdown into his coverage over the course of his three years in Georgia, and QB’s completed just over 50% of throws into his coverage in 2021, that would equate to a 31.3 NFL passer rating when targeting his man, that’s pretty damn good. So when you add the improvement he’s made in coverage, to his instincts which have been lauded since his junior year in High School, and his ability to make plays around the line, you end up with a pretty special player.

One thing I’m guilty as anyone of is completely ignoring the academic side of the player we’re talking about. I get it we’re here to talk football and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a report of analysis of how performance in the classroom affects performance on the field. Dean owns a 3.53 GPA in Mechanical Engineering and has been on the UGA Dean's List and SEC and Athletic Director Honor Roll, that’s mighty impressive when you consider the time he’s put in to be arguably the best linebacker in the 2022 draft class.

This was a really insightful comment from his high school coach after Dean enrolled early at Georgia in 2019 in one of the most strenuous subjects available at college:

“They said they had a professor who was getting two or three emails a week from (Dean), sometimes at 3 o’clock in the morning,” Boyette said with a laugh. “He’s asking if he can do this and wondering about doing that, worrying the guy to death. They told the professor, ‘Ah, that’s just Nakobe. He just wants to do good work.'”

It’s that desire for perfection which translates over to the football field. It’s clear and obvious that Dean studies opposing offenses with the same rigors he takes to mechanical engineering, that’s why he’s often a step ahead of the player he’s defending and why he seems to know what’s coming before the ball is snapped. Instincts come from hard work, and Dean is one of the hardest workers around.

Nakobe Dean Scouting Report

Instincts: Some of the best you’ll see on tape, he seems to know and diagnose a play before the ball is snapped, his intelligence and reading of the game are apparent in every single game, his consistent ability to make the right read on the play is something that not a lot of college linebackers have.

Coverage: In 2020 he flashed promise as a coverage linebacker, his lack of length can sometimes lead to short and intermediate completions for bigger RB’s and TE’s, but his instincts allow him to jump passing lanes and his recognition of depth in zone is outstanding, he gets to his point quickly and always has his head on a swivel.

Pass Rush: 2021 showed just how dangerous he can be as a pass-rusher. The 6 sacks above don’t take into consideration his performance against Michigan and how he fares in the national championship game. He’s quick and elusive around the tackles and he slithers between the tackles to make plays on the QB. He often uses his size to his advantage to almost hide behind bigger lineman before using his closing speed to finish the job. His finishing became a strength in 2021.

Tackling: An outstanding tackler on tape, Dean takes good angles to the ball carrier and wraps up, targeting the legs to stop the momentum. He’s always around the ball and he shows patience to not overpursue in the open field. He missed 11.7% of tackles in 2021 which is nearly exactly the same as Devin Lloyd (11.5%), Alabama’s Christian Harris (11.1%), and significantly better than Penn State’s Brandon Smith (15.3%).

Run Defense: One of the better run defenders in the SEC in 2021, showed a knack for deciphering and flowing to the football while avoiding traffic. Makes plays laterally and going north/south, and rarely gets fooled on play-action and misdirection. Would instantly come in and be a good run defender at the NFL level.

Leadership: I don’t often touch on this because it’s sometimes hard to judge. But having seen a lot of Georgia football, he is one of the main leaders in the huddle. You can clearly see him getting his defense aligned and reading post-game and off-season interviews with teammates, it’s clear that they value his leadership, both as a lead by example player and as a vocal leader.

Mobility: I see clear sideline to sideline potential with Dean. He flips his hips well to run with receivers, he shows excellent short burst and enough long speed to stick with most RB’s and TE’s when asked. His lateral movement is above average and his closing speed is excellent.

Scheme Fit: 4-3 WLB

Dean is ideal for the Jets 4-3 system and would slot straight in next to CJ Mosley as the weakside linebacker. His speed and ability to work through traffic make him an ideal candidate for this position, and his patience and ability to tackle in the open field make him a good outside contain backer.

Overall Opinion

I would absolutely welcome Dean to the Jets and I’m desperately hoping that the Jets come away with Dean this April. If they don’t get Dean then Devin Lloyd is the name I want to hear. The Jets have a lot of holes to fill, but none is more glaring than at linebacker in my opinion. It’s a position that’s involved in almost every play and having someone with the instincts that Dean has will go a long way to relieving some pressure on CJ Mosley. Dean is a 3 down backer whose ability to play zone and man coverage to a high level make him an ideal fit for the Jets system. He should be a priority and I’d have no problem with the Jets using a top 15 selection on him. I’d take him at the back end of the top 10 and not look back.