Bold NFL Draft Predictions: Georgia Linebacker Falls to the Second Round
It’s undeniable that the Georgia Bulldogs had one of the greatest defenses in NCAA football history during 2021. Because of that, I have repeatedly called for the Vikings to do their best to draft at least one of their prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft. With this latest bold NFL Draft prediction, it may be a little bit easier for them to do just that.
You see, while one Bulldog’s stock has continuously risen over the course of the past three or four weeks (Travon Walker), another’s has quietly and slowly dropped. I am, of course, speaking of middle linebacker Nakobe Dean. Back in January, Dean was considered to be a top-15 selection across the country. Part of that probably had to do with the recency bias of Georgia’s national title, but he certainly is a talented player.
Dean is very adept at pass coverage out of the middle of a defense. However, his run defense must improve as he enters the NFL level. This weakness is much more apparent in him than a prospect like Devin Lloyd. Because of these weaknesses and a few other factors, my bold prediction for today is that Nakobe Dean will fall into the second round.
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Of course, the sole fact that Lloyd may be the better prospect right now shouldn’t drop Nakobe Dean so far that he can’t be a first rounder. However, on top of Lloyd being a more polished prospect, Dean is hurt by another teammate being on the rise.
Quay Walker didn’t necessarily have overwhelming stats as a Bulldog, but if you watch him, he consistently showed great effort on every snap. His freakish athleticism is intriguing (recorded a 4.52 40 at the combine, fourth among LBs). He is a Swiss army knife that can do a little bit of everything at the position. And now on top of all that, NFL.com‘s Tom Pelissero has essentially slated Walker in as a first-round pick.
On top of that, Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal could be a first-round sleeper. The Badger has some sneaky athleticism and is also a great run-stopper. He doesn’t get much hype right now because, well, he’s a Wisconsin linebacker, and they always fall in the draft. The same thing happened to Zach Baun in 2020 that allowed the Saints to get him in the second round. If a team is high on him though, it would not be all that surprising to see him jump into the latter half of the first round.
Because of the sheer number of LBs all grouped together here, at least one of them has to fall. It’s inevitable. I believe that prospect will end up being Nakobe Dean, and it could benefit the Vikings greatly. This is a team that has Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks on the wrong side of 30. What we’ve seen out of Chazz Surratt so far has not been encouraging, either. They could look to restock that middle part of their defense, and Dean would be a very valuable get on Friday.
