Nakobe Dean

Vs Run

He diagnoses run quickly and then brings his explosion and speed into play when getting into position to play the run at the point of attack. He reads Zone runs quickly and can get in front of the Offensive Linemen releasing to the second level thanks to the processing and his vertical explosion. But if a technically proficient RB presses his keys long enough, Dean can get stuck the wrong side. Against Gap runs, he reads his keys and stays tight to the puller to allow him to shoot the gap and use his speed to get in the backfield and tackle the runner. But against Base blocks he less able to use his speed to shoot the gap and penetrate. He can be susceptible to misdirection too and doesn’t diagnose decoys quickly enough against more complex rushing offenses. He reads Duo well and can get underneath the Drive man, shooting the gap to hit the Running Back hard in the hole. He’s a good tackler inside. In all of his play against the run at the point of attack, he doesn’t play effectively with his hands.

He can play with gap discipline but he’s highly inconsistent in the way he disengages to make a play on the ball-carrier. His play strength is only moderate, he can play with a high pad level at times and it means he can struggle to get off blocks and tackle the runner in his gap. His explosion and play speed allow him to make plays outside of his assigned area, to the outside. He takes good angles but against speedier Wide Receivers on end-arounds he can take overly-aggressive angles and barely make a play on the sideline. He could also read RB posture more accurately to take full advantage of his speed, when he doesn’t do this quicker RBs can beat him to the edge but his speed will allow him to compete with arm tackles when he gets close to the RB.

Coverage

His real strength is in coverage, thanks to his quickness, lateral agility and explosion. In Zone he can process quickly, read routes in his area and effectively break on the ball with excellent drive mechanics fueled by his vertical explosion. He’s able to use his athletic ability to prevent targets against crossing receivers over the middle. He can be manipulated in his Zone by Quarterbacks with good eye discipline. In man coverage he can win with his foot speed and processing in short areas against TEs and RBs, either over the middle or to the sideline, he can even cover some WRs that have less change of direction ability. If he has to turn and run up the seam with Tight Ends you can see tightness in his hips as he tries to unlock them and can be on his heels when he has to pedal for longer distances in man coverage. He’s very good at reading screens and has the athleticism to get in the backfield and blow them up as well as awareness to get in passing lanes. He’s a good blitzer. Can track the ball downfield but doesn’t time his hands consistently to get pass break-ups or interceptions.

SUMMARY
Athletic LB who can shoot gaps and defeat blockers with his speed against the run. Excellent coverage LB who excels in Zone and can play man-to-man on TEs and RBs without issue

PRODUCTION
JR: 8 Sacks, 6 QB Hits, 3 Batted Balls, 72 Total Tackles, 1 FF, 2 INTs, 2 PBUs
SO: 1 Sack, 4 QB Hits, 67 Total Tackles
INJURY: None

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 4
Intelligence 4
Versatility 2
Grit 4
Scheme 4