LOOK: Nakobe Dean brings national championship ring to NFL Draft
Nakobe Dean is prepared to show up in style to the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday in Las Vegas. The Georgia linebacker is expected to be taken in either the first or second round according to NFL.com, and brought along a special piece of jewelry with him.
SEC Network posted a video to Twitter of Dean in his hotel room, holding his national championship ring. Presumably, he will have it with him when he hears his name called and walks up on stage to begin his pro career.
Dean was one of the leaders for the Bulldogs defense this past season, finishing with a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss to go along with six sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, 72 tackles and 31 quarterback hurries. In the 33-18 victory against Alabama in the national title game, he finished with four tackles and one pass defended. He was truly all over the field all season, earning a first team All-American selection from several outlets and winning the Butkus Award, given annually to college football’s top linebacker.
Although many NFL Draft analysts are high on Nakobe Dean, the Georgia star isn’t on Mel Kiper’s final first-round mock. However, NFL GMs have been telling reporters that they’re expecting the wildest draft in some years, which means anything could happen. Despite the mock drafts, Dean is still the No. 8 overall prospect on ESPN’s final top-100 rankings.
Coming out of high school in 2019, Dean was a five-star recruit and the No. 25 overall player according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He certainly proved himself worthy of those rankings in his college career and now hopes to do the same in the pros.
Regardless of how that turns out, however, he will always have his national championship ring and the 2021 season to look back on.