Nakobe Dean shares how teams 'pick his mind' in NFL Draft prep
Nakobe Dean skipped out on workouts at the NFL Combine and Georgia’s Pro Day.
Many wondered why the ‘under-sized’ (scouts’ words, not mine) middle linebacker would dare miss an opportunity to show his stuff.
After all, he’s probably not as fast, and apparently has shorter arms than his NFL Draft competition.
As Kirby Smart revealed at Georgia’s Pro Day, Dean made his decisions to take it easy because a of pec strain.
Shockingly, when you’re the leading tackler on one of the best defenses in Georgia football / college football history, you take a little wear and tear.
“I’m getting back to it. I’m feeling good, feeling better every day, just working to be the best I can be,” Dean told NFL.com.
“Controlling what I can control.”
Reading between the lines: that decision may or may not impact how teams speak with Dean now
I can understand – regardless of Dean’s physical situation – how NFL teams may wonder about his desire to compete.
Even though they had an entire National Championship season of film to analyze.
And don’t forget the multiple opportunities they had to hear Dean speak at the Combine and Pro Day.
The scouts are just a little twitchy. That’s their job.
So they investigate, and test, and investigate some more.
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“For the most part, the teams are just trying to basically pick my mind, see how well I know ball, how much I love it,” Dean said.
That isn’t the only hot topic of discussion.
It sounds like Dean already faces some NFL mental gymnastics from a scheme perspective.
“(They’re) trying to see how well I retain information. (They) continue to teach me their defense, see how fast I can retain it and learn it, things like that.”
Is Nakobe Dean too small to be a first-round NFL Draft pick at linebacker?
NFL scouts: doubt Nakobe Dean’s abilities at your own risk.
Regardless of where teams think Dean can fit based on his playing weight and height, he believes his abilities will travel well from Athens.
“Most of the teams I talk to see me playing right in the middle of the defense. It varies. Some teams say I can be the Mike or the Will position. Some teams see me strictly as a Mike. I feel like I can play wherever they need me to play,” Dean said.
“If you can play ball, you can play ball. It never matters how much you weigh. I played at about 230. That’s where I’m at, that’s where I feel the best at.”
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