STRENGTHS
Nakobe is an instinctive football player. He shows on film, excellent leadership, instincts, quickness, and burst to the ball along with a high football IQ to play bigger than his size. He’s a strong tackler. He is more quick than fast but has good speed. When he is used to attacking the line of scrimmage his size is an advantage along with his unique strength and leverage to defeat and overpower blocks. His quickness and change of direction agility are also an advantage in coverage. When used in coverage, his ability to read the receiver and read routes and once again anticipate, are advantages. He’s a playmaker who reminds me a lot of former Panthers LB Thomas Davis and for you young guys, he’s a lot like Raven’s playmaking LB, Patrick Queen.
CONCERNS
Nakobe will be downgraded because he is not 6’ 2” and for some teams, it will affect his draft status. If he measures another 2 inches, Nakobe could be considered by most teams as a top 10 to top 15 type player. At least on film, he plays like that.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.57
When both Thomas Davis and Patrick Queen came out most teams struggled with what position they would play at the next level. Davis bounced back and forth between safety and linebacker but had the speed most teams looked for at either position so he was selected as the 14th pick in that draft. Queen was listed as 6ft – 229LBs at the combine but played linebacker and most teams look for bigger size players when selecting early in the 1st round so, he wasn’t selected until the 28th pick. Nakobe falls into the same range of size, speed, quickness, etc., as both of those players. As far as I’m concerned when I look at the film he plays like a 6’3” 230lb linebacker with the instincts, football IQ, and leadership skills to be the focal point of your defense. Nakobe can be used all over your defense in coverage or attacking the line of scrimmage and he will make plays. You can try to block him but, in most cases, he will take the blocker on, and with unique strength and perfect leverage, will defeat it. I don’t care what position you think he should play, I would select him early, put him on the field right away, and watch him as he makes plays all over the field. That’s what I would do because playmakers come in all sizes so suggesting that Nakobe is not the right size, seems pretty foolish to me.
