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Nakobe Dean not down about his draft day drop, chip on shoulder grows bigger

Palmber-Thombsby: Palmer Thombs05/01/22palmerthombs
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Former Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, the reigning Butkus Award winner, is a key departure the Bulldogs must replace in 2022. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Nakobe Dean had to wait to hear his name called a little bit longer than expected during the 2022 NFL Draft, ultimately being taken in the third round with the No. 83 overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, but that’s not going to stop him from being ready to go with his new team.

“I’m amped. I’m ready to go,” Dean told Philadelphia media members on Friday night. “Minicamp is next week, and I expect to be a full participant for that.”

Dean was widely projected as a first round pick throughout the pre-draft process, however he started to slip down mock drafts as the big day approached. NFL scouts had long been concerned about his size and speed, but the tape did the talking there. However, some concern over injury was what ultimately made him fall out of the first round and into day two.

Ultimately, Dean isn’t going to let that drop get to him. As he put it, it was out of his control. What’s not though is the way that he approaches things from here on out.

“Why I dropped is not in my control,” Dean said. “There’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing I could do to make them pick me earlier. I’m just grateful and blessed to have this opportunity.”

“I’d be remiss to say that I wasn’t surprised, but at the end of the day, I thank God for the whole process. This has done nothing but make my chip grow bigger,” he continued. “I’m just ready to play, ready to get to work.”

In being picked by Philadelphia, Dean gets to reunite at the professional level with his former Georgia teammate Jordan Davis. The two were some of the biggest leaders that the defense had in 2021, a unit that led the nation in several defensive categories and led the Bulldogs to their first National Championship in over four decades. Dean won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker while Davis took home the Bednarik Award, given to the top defensive player in College Football. Both were First-Team All-Americans according to the Associated Press, Walter Camp, American Football Coaches Association, Sporting News and USA Today, among others.

“I’m very excited. It’ll be nice to be coming in with somebody who was with me the whole time and who shares similar goals having been with each other for so long,” Dean said. “I’ll be nice to see us living some of our dreams out together.”

Dean and Davis were two of 15 Georgia players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, a record-breaking total in a seven-round draft. Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt were also two Georgia teammates taken by the same team, the Green Bay Packers, in the first round.

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