2022 NFL Draft: Georgia first-round hopeful Nakobe Dean on his desire to be one of the greats

The 2022 NFL Draft is quickly approaching and prospects are about to live out a dream. Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean took a moment from his busy schedule to join CBS Sports’ Pick Six podcast to discuss a variety of topics, including the perception that his lack of ideal size could impact his career.

“For me, it is no concern at all. I feel like everybody is going to blow it out of proportion. It is what it is. I have been hearing it my whole life ever since ever since I started getting recruited in high school…I am going to take it in stride. It does nothing but make the chip on my shoulder that I play with bigger and bigger,” Dean said on the podcast. 

There is no evidence to suggest that those concerns impacted Dean’s play on the field last fall. Captain of the national champion Georgia defense, Dean stuffed the stat sheet with 72 total tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and one touchdown; all career highs. 

His performance on the field is a byproduct of the work put in away from the field. The Mississippi native pulls tips from some of the NFL‘s best, like Minnesota’s Eric Kendricks, Indianapolis’ Darius Leonard, Tennessee’s Zach Cunningham and Chicago’s Roquan Smith.

NFL teams notoriously dive deep into a prospect’s background, cultivating as much information necessary to make an informed decision on draft night. Dean wants each team to know they are getting a person and player hungry for success.

“What they already don’t know, they did all types of research, asked people from my hometown. Just know that I am a winner. I am going to anything legal to win. I feel like my mindset is second to none, unmatched. I am going to work as hard as I can to be one of the greatest to ever do it.”

Through the course of his career in Athens, the linebacker has opposed some talented quarterbacks, including Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Dean saw a player that could challenge defenses with his feet and was rallied around by his teammates.

“He brought a little different aspect to the game as being a little bit more mobile, being that play-making guy. Me, personally, I only used to watch SEC ball so I didn’t really knows anything about him until we were playing Cincinnati in the bowl game. Watching what he do, how he moves, how he runs the ball, how you see his team play for him and with him, they seem like they love the way they play together,” Dean finished.

The 2022 NFL Draft is to be held from April 28-30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.