The story of the second day of the NFL draft turned out to be the same as its first – the falling stock of the quarterbacks of the 2022 draft class. But on defense, the attention was focused on the shocking slide of a single player, Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean.
An attendee in the draft’s Las Vegas green room Thursday night, Dean projected as a late first-round or early second-round selection. Instead, his wait lasted until the middle of the third round.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Dean with the 83rd overall pick Friday, making him the sixth Georgia defender and 13th linebacker to come off the board. The selections of Dean and fellow Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall in the third round, along with a couple of second-round picks, boosted the Bulldogs’ tally of NFL draft selections to nine and tied the program’s record for a seven-round draft.
“It was definitely nerve-racking, especially not knowing exactly all the way why I was falling like I did,” Dean told the media. “At the end of the day, I feel like I got picked by a great organization. I’m just ready to work.”
Dean’s draft-day slide emerged as one of the major storylines of Day 2, fueled by speculation over his health and measurables.
According to news reports, Dean’s medicals concerned NFL teams, despite the All-American linebacker having never missed a game in college. He decided against surgery after suffering a pectoral strain while training for the draft, and his medical history includes a torn labrum and knee issues.
Along with the health concerns, Dean’s frame became a major factor. At 5-foot-11 and 229 pounds, he is considered undersized for the linebacker position and does not have top-notch speed.
Dean said that speculation that he would miss the 2022 season wasn’t true and made the draft process more stressful.
“Minicamps, I expect to be a full participant for that,” Dean said. “Why I dropped, it’s not in my control. There’s nothing I could do to make them pick me earlier.”
GETTING TO KNOW GEORGIA’S DRAFT PICKS
» Travon Walker selected with No. 1 pick in NFL draft
» Jordan Davis selected with 13th pick in NFL draft
» Quay Walker selected with 22nd pick in NFL draft
» Devonte Wyatt selected with 28th pick in NFL draft
» Lewis Cine selected with 32nd pick in NFL draft
» George Pickens selected with 52nd pick in NFL draft
» James Cook selected with 63rd pick in NFL draft
» Nakobe Dean selected with 83rd pick in NFL draft
» Channing Tindall selected with 102nd pick in NFL draft
In Athens, Dean had a prolific college career and captained the nation’s top scoring defense. As a junior, he earned unanimous All-American honors and received the Butkus Award as college football’s top linebacker. Dean stuffed the stat sheet with 72 total tackles, six sacks, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two interceptions, along with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown against Florida.
Philadelphia couldn’t ignore Dean’s track record and leadership in making its selection.
“All of us were reminding each other, ‘Let’s not forget this guy,’” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said of Dean in his press conference after the third round. “There may be guys with better measurables, but this guy played at the highest level, and he was the heartbeat of the team.”
Dean will join another Bulldog in the Eagles’ rookie class. Philadelphia selected defensive tackle Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick and will look to both rookies to bolster a defense that ranked 19th in the league in scoring last season.
Davis could hardly contain his excitement to reunite with Dean, reacting to the pick on Twitter on Friday night.
Dean is one of three Georgia inside linebackers to make the jump from the SEC to the NFL this offseason. The Green Bay Packers selected Quay Walker with the 22nd overall selection, while Tindall is headed to Miami as the Dolphins’ third-round pick (102nd overall).
Even with Dean falling to the 83rd pick, Georgia still had representation in the draft’s second round.
After five Georgia defenders were selected in the draft’s opening night, the Bulldog offense had its turn in the second round. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted receiver George Pickens with the 52nd overall pick, then the Buffalo Bills added running back James Cook to their backfield with the 63rd pick.
Pickens missed most of the 2021 season with a torn ACL, but returned by the end of the season and caught a 52-yard pass in the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff Championship game win. The 6-foot-3 receiver had his finest season in Athens as a freshman in 2019, leading the Bulldogs with 727 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
In the buildup to the draft, Pickens was back to his explosive self, running a 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and demonstrating his route running and reliable hands in his Pro Day performance. He will join the Steelers’ first-round selection, quarterback Kenny Pickett, in a new-look Pittsburgh offense in its first year without the retired Ben Roethlisberger.
“He was impressive beyond belief at his Pro Day,” Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada said in a press conference after the second round. “We are really, really excited to be able to get him at any point in the draft, but we’re fired up about having him on our team.”
Cook, one of two Georgia running backs in the draft, along with Zamir White, rushed for 728 yards and scored 11 total touchdowns in his senior season in Athens. He will join the reigning AFC East champions and will add a versatile skill set to a Buffalo backfield that already has running back Devin Singletary.
With his selection, Cook became the second member of his family in an NFL backfield, joining his older brother, running back Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings.
In the bottom of the third round, the Dolphins made Tindall their first 2022 draft pick after trading away their first- and second-round picks. Tindall saw the field in each of his four seasons in Athens and was an AP All-SEC second-team selection in 2021, racking up 67 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks.
Saturday’s Rounds 4-7 will give the Bulldogs a chance at the all-time record for most players selected from one school in a seven-round draft, which currently is 14. White, guard Jamaree Salyer, cornerback Derion Kendrick, guard Justin Shaffer, tight end John FitzPatrick and punter Jake Camarda are candidates to hear their names called on Day 3.
