Eagles Rumors: 'Scouts Scoff at' Concerns About Nakobe Dean After 2022 NFL Draft

Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean surprisingly fell to the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, in large part because of injury concerns, before the Philadelphia Eagles selected him. 

Other potential causes for his drop may have been his smaller stature (5'11" and 229 pounds) and his questionable speed (he didn't run for teams at the NFL Scouting Combine or his pro day), per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, "leading some to wonder if this is a case of a great college player not translating to the pros."

But Fowler added that "other scouts scoff at that, insisting his instincts will make him a Day 1 starter for Philly."

By most accounts, Dean's fall into the third round was one of the draft's biggest shockers. The B/R Scouting Department had Dean ranked as its No. 21 player on its final big board, while the NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah had him 17th, calling him an "undersized linebacker with exceptional instincts and play-making ability."

Dean didn't play like a third-round pick during his college career. He registered at least 70 tackles in each of the past two seasons, adding 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, five passes defensed and a defensive touchdown in the 2021 campaign alone. 

Injury concerns played a major part in his slide, with a pectoral injury in particular being "a concern for teams," per Fowler, who added that "some teams believe he could need surgery, which compromises his 2022 season. But I'm told all 32 teams were sent letters from Dean's independent doctors clearing him for football activities and classifying the injury as a pectoral strain."

For Dean, the slide will serve as added motivation. 

"It's definitely something that will stick with me," he told reporters on Friday. "It's not my primary or secondary source of motivation, but it's definitely something that will stick with me throughout my playing career."

And the Eagles potentially landed the steal of the draft in the process. 

"I can sense he's all ball all the time, whether we are in a meeting or on the field, he's locked in," head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters on Friday. "You definitely felt that from him, and we knew that about him before we even drafted him. He definitely showed that today, and he showed that yesterday in our meetings."