QB RB WR TE OT G C NT DT 3-4 DE DE RLB OLB MLB CB S K P
Updated 4/17/10
100 Once in a decade prospect
95-99 Elite talent
90-95 Solid top 10 pick
85-90 Solid first round pick
80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd
75-80 Solid 2nd round pick
70-75 Solid 3rd round pick
65-70 3rd-4th round pick
60-65 4th-5th round pick
55-60 5th round pick
50-55 6th round pick
45-50 7th round pick
40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp
30-40 Career practice squader
20-30 No NFL future
0-20 No football future
1. Rolando McClain (Alabama) 92
3-4 middle linebackers prospects rarely go top 10, but McClain might be an exception. At age 21, McClain is drawing some pretty warranted, though still premature, comparisons to Ray Lewis. In 3 years, McClain has 270 tackles, 5 picks, and 8 sacks. Beyond the numbers, I haven’t seen a linebacker as big as him move as well as he does. At 258 pounds, he was able to chase Tim Tebow down from behind and he could run a low 4.6 40. He’s a huge thumper and a great fundamental tackler. 270 tackles in 3 years doesn’t seem like much for a middle linebacker, but when you consider he’s a 3-4 middle linebacker and those 3 years were freshman-junior and not sophomore-senior, that’s impressive. Of all I have seen of him, he hasn’t done one thing one. He drops back into coverage with great skill already at his young age and he’s a former defensive end so he’ll be excellent on blitz packages in the NFL. Because he already has experience in a 3-4, there will be no major learning curve for him when a 3-4 team drafts him, but I do have some concerns about which positions he can play in a 4-3. I’m pretty sure he’ll fit as a 4-3 middle linebacker, but not sure about 4-3 strong outside linebacker.
2. Sean Weatherspoon (Missouri) 88
3/1/10: A very good day for him, shaving about .1 second off of his projected 40 time with a 4.57, and also recording a 40 inch vertical leap and 34 reps on the bench press.
1/30/10: If there were a co-MVP, it would be Weatherspoon. He played middle linebacker for most of the game and that was where he indicated in an interview that he has best fit, but he really can play any 4-3 linebacker position, in addition to 3-4 middle linebacker, because hustle and vocal leadership don’t necessarily have a position and those are his signature traits. His coaching staff was raving ability his leadership ability all week and his hustle showed through on the field. On one play, Weatherspoon, a 241 pound linebacker, ran step for step with Mississippi’s Dexter McCluster, a 5-8 165 running back/wide receiver who is projected to run a 40 in the 4.3s, and trapped him in the corner of the end zone and broke up and almost intercepted the pass. He also had a late interception. His efforts were a huge part of the North’s front 7 domination and I think he has solidified himself as a 1st round prospect.
3 very solid years during his time at Missouri with 376 tackles, 12 sacks, and 4 picks in his last 3 years. His a very smart player on defense and a good leader on what was not supposed to be a good Missouri defense this year. He doesn’t play the most important position which will keep him out of the top 20, where he deserves to go, but he’s a solid athlete with good fundamentals and instincts, and can play both 4-3 outside linebacker spots, plus some 3-4 middle linebacker, so the versatility is there as well. He could be one of the best linebackers in the league in the near future.
3. Sean Lee (Penn State) 78
Another one of those guys who can’t stay healthy, so that’s a red flag for a guy with 1st round talent. Despite all the games he has missed, he does have 313 tackles, 8 sacks, and 3 picks in the last 3 years. He has great fundamentals and is a stereotypical big 10 linebacker (see James Laurinaitis, Paul Posluszny, and AJ Hawk), but he could drop the 3rd round because of concerns about his athleticism and health.
4. Roddrick Muckelroy (Texas) 78
Doesn’t get huge hype, but he was the leader of Texas’s defense this year and he’s a tremendous athlete. He has 182 tackles, 2 sacks, and a pick in the last 2 years, but he showed me a lot more than his statistics when I saw him on the field. He moves well and has great instincts. He can play middle linebacker in all schemes in addition to outside linebacker.
5. Daryl Washington (TCU) 76
An excellent refined linebacker for one of the most surprising schools in the country over the past two years, he will fit into any 4-3 scheme, but he’d be best in a cover 2 or zone. However, his lack of elite size 6-3 235, won’t allow him to play in a 3-4. He can play both weak outside linebacker and middle linebacker in a 4-3 and had by far his best year of his career this year with 109 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 picks, and a pick six.
6. Perry Riley (LSU) 74
Could run a low 4.5 40 at 6-1 245 which could make Al Davis draft him in the 2nd round if he decides he needs linebacker help. Riley comes from a physical system at LSU and though he hasn’t tapped into all of his potential yet, he has very good upside. His size should allow him to move to 3-4 middle linebacker if needed, though his coverage skills are really raw. Riley finished his senior year with 97 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.
7. Pat Angerer (Iowa) 72
Some players play with anger, this guy plays with even more anger than anger. You don’t want to mess with Angerer. In all seriousness, Angerer is a legit middle linebacker prospect known for making all the stops on defense for a very surprising Iowa defensive unit this year. He had 135 tackles this year, and over the last two, since he’s been a starter, he has 242 tackles, 2 sacks, and 6 picks. He’s not going to be anything special, but I see him being a solid starting middle linebacker at the next level and he can play both the 4-3 and 3-4 schemes.
8. Brandon Spikes (Florida) 70
3/18/10: He had looked slow this year in games, but I was waiting to see him run a 40 before I called him slow because he has run 4.6s in the past. I thought the projected 4.75 was outrageous. Turns out it was, outrageously low that is. Spikes ran a 5.03 at Florida’s Pro Day. He was regarded as slow and complacent before his Pro Day and he certainly did nothing but back either of those things up. He’s now solely a 3-4 middle linebacker and could slip out of the 2nd day all together. No one wants a middle linebacker that slow and complacent. He has upside, but he no longer appears to care.
Spikes could slip out of the first round because of his position. He may have made a mistake by returning to school this year. Not only did his tackles total drop for the 2nd straight year, from 131 to 87 to 52, he was also exposed in coverage a lot, though he did have two picks, and he had some injuries issues, as well as one character red flag when he tried to poke out the eye of an exposing player through his facemask. He may just be a 2 down run stopping middle linebacker at the next level unless he can improve in coverage.
9. Joe Pawelek (Baylor) 68
Check out these stats, in his 4 years at Baylor, Pawelek has 423 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 9 picks. He will fit in both a 3-4 and a 4-3 scheme at the next level, but his timed speed will hurt his draft stock.
10. Micah Johnson (Kentucky) 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 6th or 7th 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.
He could have gone in the 2nd 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 2nd or 3rd round or the 4thor 5th. 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.
11. Jamar Chaney (Mississippi State) 64
3/1/10: He’s got 3-4 middle linebacker size at 242 pounds, but after running a 4.51, he’s also got 4-3 outside linebacker speed. He can really play anywhere as a linebacker in either scheme, 3-4 middle, 4-3 middle, and 4-3 outside. He also had a 39 inch vertical and a 26 reps on the bench, putting together one of the most impressive athletic displays of the day.
A very fundamentally sound linebacker who can play anywhere in a 4-3, as well as in the middle in a 3-4. He also looked extremely athletic at his Combine. He should, at the very least, be a good depth linebacker with versatility.
12. Donald Butler (Washington) 59
A very fluidly athletic linebacker who showed his versatility and ability in the Senior Bowl. His tape was a bit inconsistent last year and he won’t fill gaps like necessary in a 3-4, but he could fit anywhere in a 4-3 as a depth linebacker guy, especially as a middle linebacker.
13. Reggie Carter (UCLA) 57
A big thumping middle linebacker who seems like a natural fit for a 3-4. Despite his lack of lateral mobility, he still managed 269 tackles in his career at UCLA, but I’m not sure he fits a 3-4 scheme well. He doesn’t have a ton of versatility position wise.
14. Darryl Sharpton (Miami) 52
A very smart middle linebacker who should be able to fit most schemes at any positions, or also as a special teamer, but his upside isn’t great and there isn’t much special here.
15. Boris Lee (Troy) 52
A small school kid with 338 tackles, 9 sacks, and 8 picks in 4 years. He has good size and should fit into a 3-4 nicely, but the lack of elite competition is there and his timed speed isn’t rather. He’s not a fluid athlete, but he’s shown good hands and good pass rushing moves. He’s an interesting prospect to say the least.
16. Ryan D’Imperio (Rutgers) 49
17. Alex Joseph (Temple) 48
18. Kion Wilson (South Florida) 46
19. Josh Hull (Penn State) 43
20. Travis Goethel (Arizona State) 42
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