Outside Linebacker

Iowa

6-3 247

40 time: 4.67

Draft board overall prospect rank: #101

Draft board outside linebacker rank: #9

                4/17/10: AJ Edds is one of the best pure strong side linebackers in this draft class, because of his size, but he is also very fluid in coverage and very athletic and quick for his size. He’s not a flashy player or a big name guy, but he should be a very solid outside linebacker in the NFL. He is going to struggle a bit against more athletic tight ends and running backs one on one, but he does a great job in zone coverage and has good anticipation skills. He has solid hands and makes a lot of plays on a lot of balls in the air. He’s also a solid fundamental tackler and has the size to fill holes. He could probably move inside for a 3-4 team, but he’s best off as a 4-3 strong side guy, preferably in a zone defense where his superior zone skills will be shown, rather than his fairly mediocre man skills. He is not a true sideline to sideline patroller, but he has good timed speed and a solid burst so he’s not someone that can be run outside on fairly easily. He needs work with shedding blocks and using his hands to bust through blockers for tackles. Despite his size, he’s not a huge hitter as a tackler, but rather a more fundamental solid tackler. His low relatively low tackle totals are because he played alongside Pat Angerer, who was a tackling machine. Edds is probably going to go off the board in the 3^rd round range as a strong side linebacker in a zone defense. Despite his size, his best attribute is not his big hitting, it’s his zone fliudity, solid hands, and good pursuit, but he also is solid against the run.

NFL Comparison: Zac Diles

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here