Todd McShay Reports Georgia Superstar Could Fall Out of Round 1

Everyone tuning in to the Georgia football games last fall could see the impact of linebacker Nakobe Dean. But his less-than-ideal measurements and failure to shine during pre-draft drills may cause him to fall out of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, according to Todd McShay.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay: "There’s a legitimate chance that Nakobe Dean isn’t a first-round pick and that blows my mind.” https://t.co/pRkncU5AM5
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) April 19, 2022

Nakobe Dean NFL Draft

The best NFL linebackers in today's sport are built on a foundation of size and length. For example, Micah Parsons and Fred Warner both come in at 6-foot-3 with wingspans of at least 77 inches. It is causing concern among NFL scouts that Dean is only 6-foot tall and checks in with a smaller wingspan.

None of that mattered when Dean stepped on the field with his teammates, though. The 21-year-old even earned the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's top LB. Dean capped off his Bulldogs career by posting 72 tackles (10.5 for loss), 6.0 sacks, 5 pass breakups and 2 interceptions in his junior season.

"Undersized" prospects have long exceeded expectations at the NFL level and that includes the likes of Bobby Wagner and Eric Kendricks. Dean's fate in the first round may simply come down to whether the front office of a given organization puts more emphasis on measurements or gameplay.

McShay cannot believe that Dean is falling down draft boards so quickly and he likely isn't the only one feeling that way. Once widely regarded as a lock to be a top-15 selection, Dean may find himself waiting until Day 2 to hear his name get called. We'll see if that's the case on Thursday, April 28.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.