Middle Linebacker 

Kentucky

6-2 256

40 time: 4.84

Draft board overall prospect rank: #116

Draft board middle linebacker rank: #10

Overall rating: 66*

3/1/10: He hurt his knee late last season, but chose to run the 40, which appears to be a mistake after he ran a 4.99. He can make that up with his Pro Day, but questions about the health of that knee are going to be there, which hurts him a lot because he’s a mid round prospect and, as a mid round prospect, you’re one flaw away from going in the 6^th or 7^th or even undrafted. For what it’s worth, 31 reps on the bench press showed his strength and what kind of player he can be when healthy.

1/23/10: He could have gone in the 2^nd round, because of his size, 6-2 258, experience in a 3-4 at Kentucky, and the fact that he was coming off of an amazing season for a 3-4 middle linebacker with 105 tackles and a sack, but then he got hurt in his bowl game and may miss both the combine and his pro day. How teams view his injured knee could determine if he gets drafted in the 2^nd or 3^rd round or the 4^th or 5^th. He’s a prototypical 3-4 middle linebacker, but his agility and timed speed aren’t good, projected 4.74-4.78 40, so I’m not sure what other positions he’ll be able to play or if he’ll fit a 4-3 at all.

            7/28/09: Micah Johnson is a very physical middle linebacker who is the prototypical 3-4 in terms of size. He’s very strong and has a great initial burst and both of those make him a great run stopping middle linebacker. He doesn’t have good sideline to sideline or chase speed, but he can plug up holes as a 3-4 middle linebacker and stuff running backs. His lack of timed speed will hurt him. A 40 in the 4.7s isn’t good at 255 pounds. He doesn’t have a lot of pass rushing abilities. He’s a very intense player and great leader, but he can be overaggressive and over pursue which gets him in trouble. He can keep up with tight ends in pass coverage and is a very tough physical matchup for even some of the biggest tight ends. He has trouble picking up faster running backs out of the backfield. He isn’t versatile. He’ll probably only be able to play 3-4 middle linebacker in the NFL. He’s not fast enough to play in a 4-3 or a cover 2. He’s not a good enough pass rusher. to play 3-4 rush linebacker or 4-3 end. His strength and burst make him a very good 3-4 run stuffing middle linebacker, but his lack of timed speed and versatility makes him a 3^rd round prospect at best. He projects as a good 3-4 depth guy in the next level with borderline starter potential. 

NFL Comparison: Takeo Spikes 

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