Rush linebacker is the position on a 3-4 defense that is most normally responsible for rushing the passer, hence its name. The rush linebacker lines up fairly close to the line of scrimmage, but not on the line of scrimmage, and also far more to the outside than a defensive end, about halfway between the 4-3 defensive end position and the nickelback position. They play standing up, meaning they do not start the play with their hand on the line of scrimmage. They aren’t required to do as much physical run stuffing as 3-4 defensive ends, but they are required to drop back into coverage a lot more. Part of the mystique of the 3-4 defense is the rush linebacker position because offensive players and coordinators simply don’t know if a rush linebacker is going to rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage. Based off that description, the position seems like an ideal position for those smaller college defensive ends that would struggle in the trenches in the NFL. Those smaller ends normally have the fluid athleticism needed to drop back into coverage and the speed to cover and also a set of smooth pass rushing moves to penetrate the backfield from an outside position. So, you’d think with so many teams switching to 3-4 defenses in recent years, smaller defensive ends would be getting excited knowing that there is a position for them in the NFL. Well, as recent history has shown that is not the case. The case has been that, because the rush linebacker position pretty much does not exist in the college game, players have had a hard time transitioning to the rush linebacker position in recent years. In fact, you have to go back to the 2005 draft to find a defensive end that was able to transition to the rush linebacker position with good success (DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman).

Kamerion Wimbley

Wimbley came into the league at 245 pounds so he could not play the defensive end position in the NFL, as he had in college, but with a solid 4.67 40 time, the Browns believed he could make the transition to the 3-4 rush linebacker in Romeo Crennel’s defense and for a while they were right. In his first year in the league, Wimbley had 11 sacks, most among rookies and put himself into consideration for Rookie of the Year. However, in order for me to consider him a success at the position, he would have had to sustain that success and he hasn’t. In the 3 years since, Wimbley has a grand total of 15.5. Not bad, but not great. He wasn’t a complete failure as a rush linebacker, at least not compared to some other rush linebackers.

Manny Lawson

Lawson was 241 pounds when he weighed in at the combine, but with his amazing 4.43 40 time, teams quickly forget about that and viewed him as an elite future rush linebacker. Mike Nolan of the San Francisco 49ers pulled the trigger on him with the 22^nd pick in 2006. However, Lawson proved quickly to be a bust. Lawson managed 8 sacks through the first three and a half years of his career. He did show some signs of hope late last season with 4 sacks in the Niners last 8 games giving him 6.5 for the season, most on the team, but its safe to say he hasn’t been worth the 22^nd overall pick.

Vernon Gholston

Nowhere is there a better example for this article than Gholston. Gholston was a safe pick in 2008. At 266 pounds he could have played defensive end and given his 14.5 sacks as a defensive end in his final year at Ohio State, he probably could have played the position well. He fell to the Jets at 6 in 2008 and since he had top 5 talent and the Jets desperately needed a pass rusher, the Jets took him at 6 and tried to fit him into their 3-4 scheme as a rush linebacker. It was a reasonable decision given his 4.58 40 time at the combine, but in the two years since being drafted, Gholston has not had a single sack and could be cut this offseason.

Larry English

(did not play enough as a rookie for me to use him in this article)

Clay Matthews

Clay Matthews is the one success story with 10 sacks in his rookie year after being drafted 26^th overall. Why did he succeed? He played linebacker at USC. Though USC does not use a true rush linebacker position, they do blitz their strong side linebacker very often and Matthews was that guy. He was essentially playing a 4-3 rush linebacker position at USC and that wouldn’t be as hard to transition from as a 4-3 end position.

I know there isn’t a large statistical sample to use here, since the rush linebacker position is a very modern position that has not been around long, but what has happened to Wimbley, Lawson, and Gholston is a bit startling. Because of that, it would make me at least think twice before drafting a guy like Jerry Hughes or Jason Pierre Paul to play rush linebacker in the first. Instead I would wait until the 2^nd or the 3^rd round to take a guy like Ricky Sapp, Eric Norwood, or Sergio Kindle who have experience playing the outside linebacker position in college in addition to defensive end. Brandon Graham could be safe too because he played some linebacker in high school, though guys who played some linebacker in college seem to be the safe way to go.