Pair a Dog with the Lion?

Already showing signs of a top dog NFL linebacker with an impressive rookie campaign, Dallas Cowboys player Micah Parsons is deserving of his lion nickname. With draft talk now underway, the Cowboys are rumored to acquire another player with some dog in him, Georgia Bulldog linebacker prospect Nakobe Dean.

Popular Sports Analyst Daniel Jeremiah had the Cowboys selecting Dean, said RJ Ochoa in a Blogging the Boys article. Now, with the Cowboys having issues with the offensive line and other defensive positions, prioritizing these needs makes much sense. However, linebacker may also be a position the Cowboys want to address, especially with questions surrounding Cowboys starting linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, now a free agent.

According to Pro Football Focus and other sources, Dean is a top five linebacker prospect for this year’s draft class. Michael Renner ranks Dean as the second best linebacker in this draft, per Pro Football Focus. Tyler Wise includes more on Dean's college career in a Steelers Depot article.

In 36 games at Georgia, Dean posted great stats. Specifically, he had 168 tackles, 89 solo, 13.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven pass deflections, one fumble return, three forced fumbles and one touchdown. He is also a 2021 First Team All-American, All-SEC First Team, 2021 Butkus Award Winner, and Chuck Bednarik Semi-Finalist. The Butkus Award, named after legendary Chicago Bears Linebacker Dick Butkus, is given to the best collegiate linebacker and the Bednarik Award is given to the best collegiate defensive player, per Harrison Reno’s Fan Nation article. Dean came into college football as the top high school linebacker recruit and has stayed within that range in college.

The Bleacherreport NFL scouting department explains more about how Dean is on the field. Dean is said to have a lot of positive attributes to his game. He’s a speedster with the blitz, good at defending rushes and bringing people down in the open field. He’s also physical, energetic, fluid, agile enough to get through the offensive line, great at blitzing, able to cover running backs and more. These positives pair with few negatives.

As with any player, from the least talented to the best of the best, Dean can stand to work on some parts of his game. He’s not the biggest guy, and this could mean trouble when going against NFL offensive linemen. This may also mean he doesn’t have the strength to move offensive lineman in the NFL. That’s really it, and with talent like Dean’s, the Cowboys, and other teams, could live with it.

Although Dean’s a projected first rounder, right now he's expected to go late in the round and surprisingly may slip to the second round. Personally, him slipping to second sounds like a steal to the teams that would have a chance to get him. With Dean most likely still hanging around near the end of the first, and with the Cowboys obtaining the 24th overall pick, do you follow me?

Intriguingly enough, Dean has great NFL comparisons. In James Morgan’s UGA Wire article, Morgan said Dean has been compared to current Steelers Linebacker Devin Bush and former Atlanta Falcons Linebacker Jessie Tuggle.

One critical similarity Dean has with them is size. Seen as having a size issue, Bush still became a top 10 pick, and it has clearly paid off for the Steelers with him having “205 career tackles and four interceptions across three seasons,” Morgan noted. Tuggle is a Falcons legend and fourth in NFL history in tackling with 1,805.

It’s hard to imagine that Dean isn’t a prospect on many team’s radars. If he’s available at 24, and the best player available, forget about need, even though he would still potentially cover a Cowboys need, I wouldn’t mind putting a star on his helmet.

Pairing him alongside Micah Parsons is something the NFL doesn’t want to see.

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