Potential Eagles first-round draft targets with huge boom-or-bust potential
814. . . . Nakobe Dean, Georgia. . player
There’s a ton of support for the Eagles drafting Nakobe Dean.
We realize that many of you get hyped about things you’ve just seen and won’t dig any further than the surface, but something is fishy here. Nakobe Dean flashed for Georgia in his final season with the program, helping the Bulldogs to conquer their longtime nemesis, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and hoist the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, but it’s fair to ask a few questions here.
If he’s so dominant, how come he only has 36 solo tackles for the 2021 NCAA football season? Why are there scouts who have said they aren’t overly enthusiastic about his tape? If he winds up playing the outside linebacker position at the NFL level, what makes us feel like he’d be an asset in pass protection?
Here’s a big one. You saw how dominant that Bulldogs’ defensive line was. Is there any possibility that playing behind them could have added to his ability to roam freely?
Sure, he came up with some huge stops down the stretch when we were all watching him play on national television, but we keep hearing that this is a sack artist with can’t-miss potential. Why does he only have six sacks then through a 15-game college football season? Again, that defensive line allowed him a ton of freedom at times. You can’t just gloss over that like it isn’t a valid statement.
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Look, no one’s saying the guy isn’t special. He truly is. All we’re saying is maybe we need to ease off of the gas pedal slightly. Dean was inconsistent on a down-to-down basis, and that’s been alarming for a few people who have paid attention to him all season. He isn’t going to be able to just run downhill on every play. It takes a lot more to play linebacker at the NFL level than that.
The long and short of everything is this. Nakobe Dean could wind up being another Micah Parsons, but he could wind up being an okay player too. No one should be surprised by either outcome because both scenarios are huge posibilities.