Nakobe Dean 40 time: Where did he rank among linebackers?
By Matt Conner
With the 2023 NFL Combine on the horizon, let’s look back at a memorable pre-draft season for Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean.
One year has passed since the Philadelphia Eagles grabbed the “steal of the draft” in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the selection of former Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean. Labeled as a first-round pick by most draft analysts and one of the top overall linebackers in his class, Dean was forced to wait patiently on the actual broadcast as several of his peers were taken before him.
It’s easy to forget just how incredulous most of the draft’s announcers were about Dean’s freefall, but teams were reportedly concerned about a potential need for pectoral surgery (and Dean’s refusal to have it). Throw in some knocks against his size and stature and you have a third-round pick.
With this year’s NFL Combine on the horizon, signaling the full-on arrival of the pre-draft season, we thought we’d look back at Dean’s combine performance from a year ago—and specifically the 40-yard dash—to compare times knowing what we know now.
The top 40-yard dash times from Nakobe Dean’s competition
Dean could not participate in any of the drills at the 2022 NFL Combine due to his pectoral muscle injury, so his only activities were limited to interviews, medical checks, and the official weigh-in. However, he reportedly put up a 4.74 second time in the 40-yard dash elsewhere. How would that sort of time have stacked up at the Combine?
Here’s a look at the best LB times in the 40-yard dash in 2022:
- Troy Anderson, 4.42 seconds
- Christian Harris, 4.44 seconds
- Channing Tindall, 4.47 seconds
- Malcolm Rodriguez, 4.52 seconds
- Brandon Smith, 4.52 seconds
- Quay Walker, 4.52 seconds
- Leo Chenal, 4.53 seconds
- D’Marco Jackson, 4.55 seconds
- Brian Asamoah, 4.56 seconds
- Chance Campbell, 4.57 seconds
