Nakobe Dean was one of the 14 Georgia Bulldogs to be invited to the 2022 NFL combine in February, however, he did not partake in any drills.
On Wednesday, Georgia hosted its annual Pro Day, allowing for its draft eligible players to show off their skills in front of what was a record number of NFL scouts and personnel executives.
After not running at the combine, there was a ton of hype surrounding what inside linebacker Dean would do on Wednesday inside Georgia’s athletic facility. However, he only competed in some position drills and did not partake in the 40-yard dash.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart explained that Dean is still recovering from a strained pectoral muscle that he suffered while training for the combine last month.
“He has a pec strain,” Smart revealed. “He was getting ready for the combine and doing a lot of bench press and strained his pec. So, he hasn’t been able to train as much.”
Dean does plan on partaking in more drills, including the 40, in mid-April, according to the Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy.
📍@seniorbowl in Athens. Announcement just made to scouts that junior LB Nakobe Dean will only do position drills today. Dean hopes to run and test in mid-April.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/kP7l3WI342
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) March 16, 2022
As Chip Towers of the AJC points out, Dean “spent most of his time Wednesday in the shadows of the western wall of Georgia’s Payne Indoor Athletic Facility with a hoodie pulled over his head.”
Dean is still making good use of his time at Pro Day, though. He mentioned that he met with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and New England Patriots thus far.
Nakobe Dean said he met with Steelers, Giants and Patriots so far at Georgia Pro Day
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) March 16, 2022
Nakobe Dean’s NFL comparisons…
Dean is hoping to be a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft after putting up incredible numbers throughout his career with Georgia.
Dean has impressive instincts, football intelligence and is extremely fast, though we still are not sure just how fast. Dean’s biggest knock throughout the NFL draft process will be his lack of size, but does that even matter?
Modern NFL defenses are looking for speed, versatility, sound tacklers and smart players. That sounds exactly like Dean, who is an engineering major with strong leadership traits.
Dean has been compared to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush and former Atlanta Falcon legend Jessie Tuggle.
Tuggle is No. 4 in total tackles in NFL history with 1,805 tackles, and at 5-foot-11, 230-pounds he has similar size to Dean. Tuggle made five Pro Bowls with the Falcons. He played in the NFL from 1987-2000. An NFC executive compared Dean to Tuggle.
Bush was an undersized linebacker coming out of Michigan, but that did not stop him from being the No. 10 pick of the 2019 NFL draft. Bush has 205 career tackles and four interceptions across three NFL seasons.
Bush and Dean also are similar in size. Bush is 5-foot-11, 235-pounds. Dean is 6-foot, 225-pounds. Both are built to stop playmakers in space.
Dean’s speed and coverage ability could allow him to play like a box safety similar to Jeremy Chinn of the Carolina Panthers and several other NFL players.
