Nakobe Dean Scouting Report

Background

NAME: Nakobe Dean

POSITION: ILB

HEIGHT: 6′ 0″

WEIGHT: 225 lbs

SCHOOL: Georgia

CLASS: Junior

JERSEY: #17

HOMETOWN: Horn Lake, Mississippi

HIGH SCHOOL: Horn Lake

BIRTHDAY: 12/13/2000

COLLEGE CAREER

Co-winner of the 2019 Newcomer of the Year award in his freshman year before being named a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award in 2020. Led the Bulldogs in tackles (71 total stops) and pressuring the QB on 13 occasions. In 2021 to date, he has registered 23 tackles (2nd on the team) and started every game at ILB. He also claimed his first career interception in the Auburn match.

Speed and Lateral Quickness

He shows great speed to be able to make plays on the ball and he can handle most RBs and TEs with ease. Lateral quickness is very evident on film; the way he tracks RBs while maintaining leverage is impressive.

Body Control

He is very much in control of his movements and has really nice footwork, especially to control his pace and put himself in the right position to make a play.

Strength

Needs additional strength to be a successful ILB at the next level – he still has adequate leg strength for hit power but could do with adding 10 lbs to frame to cope with NFL demands.

Hip Flexibility and Bend

Dean changes direction so efficiently and has really smooth hips when transitioning from one direction to another – this is what allows him to fly from one sideline to another and flash the lateral quickness.

Tackling and Pursuit

I didn’t see a missed tackle on film: he always gets into the best positions to tackle, very clever at eyeing up which blockers are coming towards him and manages to take the shortest pursuit lane towards the ball.

Yet again great run fit, doesn't get impatient and fire through A-gap but lets play develop tiny bit longer and scrapes to the outside before making a good tackle for a short gain – got everything you want from an ILB this year👀 pic.twitter.com/z6vOn1TVg3
— Luke Carr (TD4LC) (@TD4LC_YT) October 12, 2021

Run Game & Blitz Ability

His run fits are amazing and it’s extremely rare he allows himself to be out of position or in a place that the OL has a blocking advantage. When blitzing, his slight frame rules out bullrushing players, but his speed means even inside blitzes can work with a swim move. Used a lot on delayed blitzes.

#17 Nakobe Dean, ILB – Georgia (6-0, 225)

UGA use Dean on lots of delayed blitzes like this to use his speed against already scrambling IOL after initial DL push.
Great patience to keep himself hidden until DL bursts inside to open up clear rush lane for him to pressure QB pic.twitter.com/VhO7YwWsOL
— Luke Carr (TD4LC) (@TD4LC_YT) October 12, 2021

Coverage

He gets a 100% mark from me in zone coverage, the way he gets depth with pedal technique is absolutely textbook, allowing him to keep eyes in backfield and see how the play unfolds, and there was no evident separation in his man coverage assignments either.

Football IQ

Identifies screens really quickly; his head is on a swivel constantly scanning for WRs coming near his zone across the middle – allows him to get into position early and be ready to make a play.

CONCLUSION

Dean is a really exciting prospect, and someone who has significantly boosted their stock at the start of 2021. He calls a lot of the motions and is responsible for calling to the DL when to shift, as they do often at UGA, which will stand him in good stead moving into the NFL.