Perhaps the weakest position in the draft after Mosley there are no sure fire starters in the position and all the prospects after him have at least one red flag. Either way teams need this position and will at the least experiment with probably four or five Ilbs not including Mosley. Some teams might look to outside linebackers like Trent Murphy to fill a need at ILB.
1. C.J. Mosley - 6’2” 234 Ilbs. 4.95 40 Alabama – 6.5 - A four year starter that has great size but is slow for the position. C.J. has fantastic skills against the run being a sure tackler and shows a talent of reading run plays. Highly recruited out of high school and stepped right into a great program and produced for a coach that has an NFL scheme. Somehow Mosley still looks great on film in pass coverage even with his slow straight line speed. I assume this comes from his off the charts football IQ he knows the routes that are coming and knows how to defend them this is something that comes with eight years of playing football at an elite level. Mosley will be a top 15 pick and start right away and most likely have a fine career in the NFL.
2. Chris Borland - 5’11” 248 Ilbs. 4.83 40 Wisconsin – 5.9 - A redshirt senior with four years of starting experience he had a season ending injury. Borland has below average speed and size yet he is considered the second best ILB in this draft. Perhaps his ranking came from 14 forced fumbles during his college career he is a beast in the running game making tackles behind the line and forcing ball carriers to give up the rock. 27 reps in the bench press at the combine. Borland is not great in pass coverage and a team will need to make simple assignments in the passing game. Offenses can exploit this if a defense assigns him to cover a running back or faster tight ends. He has a fabulous motor and never quits. I like Max Bullough a little bit more all around however he is better than Max in run support which is both of their specialties there fore Borland earns the number two spot. London Fletcher was similarly built and if Chris can make the most out of his talents he may have a similar career of being great in the NFL but not being acknowledged for it till the very end. If Chris slips to the late 3rd or early 4th round he could turn into the steal of the draft.
3. Max Bullough - 6’3” 249 Ilbs. 4.78 40 Michigan State – 5.8 - A three year starter that has a good size/speed combination. Some say that he is not athletic yet he ran faster than 90% of Ilbs and produced 30 reps during the combine. Max is ridiculously underrated he produced on one of the best defenses in the nation and was the defense’s leader the past two seasons. Bullough has a knack for making tackles behind the line of scrimmage and is great in run support. He has the strength to take on offensive lineman at the point of attack and the speed to tackle nearly side line to side line. He does need to add strength to his lower body but he will obviously do that in an NFL weight room and whoever drafts him needs to know his limitations in man coverage and work with him on minimal assignments in pass coverage. Inside linebackers are there for the run and intermediate passes and most plays that form in front of Max are finished quickly. He partied during his senior year bowl trip and was not allowed to play due to it unfortunately they still won without him which is a knock on how much he actually mattered to his team.
4. Shayne Skov - 6’2” 245 Ilbs. 4.95 40 Stanford – 5.5 - A redshirt senior that has been a starter since he was a freshman suffered a season ending injury in 2011 and seemed like it limited his potential because his stats as a freshman and sophomore were more impressive than his previous two seasons. Skov is great against the run and made over 18 plays in the backfield last season. However against Cal there was an obvious audible on a run play on 3rd and short that Skov failed to get his defense into the correct position although it did not have an impact on the outcome at the next level he will have few games where his team will win by 50 points and experienced quarterbacks might be able to outsmart him in the running game if he is the signal caller for the defense. Shayne’s biggest asset in pass defense is when he is rushing the passer (nine sacks past two seasons and 10 QB hurries last year). He has the smarts and is great in run support a team will have to develop his coverage ability but Skov is a potential long term starter in the NFL.
5. Yawin Smallwood – 6’2” 246 Ilbs. 5.01 40 Connecticut – 5.4 - A three year starter with good size but below average speed. He put up decent stats for a linebacker against the pass deflecting nine passes last season. Smallwood has some pass rush ability with four sacks last season. With over twenty tackles for loss the past two season Yawin seems to be at his best against the run. Sometimes looks slow to recognize what the offense is doing and needs to become smarter football wise to make up for his tortoise speed.
6. Preston Brown – 6’1” 251 Ilbs. 4.86 40 Louisville – 5.3 - Preston has three years starting experience and has a little below average blend of size and speed. Brown is weakest against the pass whether it is in coverage or rushing the passer. Against the run he is good delivering big blows at times while not missing on too many tackles. His weakness in pass defense will limit the number of chances he gets in the NFL.
7. Andrew Jackson – 6’1” 254 Ilbs. 4.82 40 Western Kentucky – 5.2 - A three year starter with below average size and speed combination. Whichever team he winds up on will not expect him to defend the pass too often. Great in run support between the tackles however he lacks the speed to chase down running backs that get to the edge. Could wind up starting on the inside of a 3-4 defense.
8. Marquis Spruill – 6’1” 231 Ilbs. 4.65 40 Syracuse – 5.1 - A four year starter who’s size limits him to the position of weak side linebacker however he does have good speed. This is concerning due to his lack of experience defending the pass. Marquis averaged ten tackles for loss each of his four seasons and last season he had 5.5 sacks. Spruill needs to polish up his pass coverage in order to compete for a starting spot but he does everything well.
9. Avery Williamson – 6’1” 246 Ilbs. 4.66 40 Kentucky – 5.0 - A two year starter with a good blend of size and speed. His athleticism ends with his straight line speed and in pass coverage he will be a serious liability. At his best when he is running down the play and has made over 250 tackles the past two seasons. Not that much of a playmaker probably not going to make it to long in the NFL unless he improves on making plays in front of him.
10. James Morris – 6’1” 241 Ilbs. 4.80 40 Iowa – 4.9 - Morris is at least a three year starter with an okay blend of size and speed. Surprisingly good in zone coverage and can hold his own in man. Made big strides in his senior year racking up 17 tackles for loss and seven sacks to go along with that. Morris is not the hardest hitter and often wraps up the legs to secure the tackle. Morris just might pan out into a starter or an NFL journeyman he also had 4 interceptions with three passes defended and two forced fumbles. He did everything last season for Iowa and could surprise at the next level.
11. Dede Lattimore – 6’0” 237 Ilbs. 4.67 40 South Florida – 4.85 - A three year starter with below average blend of size and speed. Dede was not asked too much in pass coverage during college so he is at best below average in this. He is another ILB who is by far better against the run racking up a ton of tackles in his career. Lattimore showed his ability to jar the ball lose last season with four forced fumbles. He does not have too many sacks however as a sophomore he had seven. More than likely a special teams guy that adds a little bit of depth to a team’s linebackers.
12. Glenn Carson – 6’3” 244 Ilbs. 4.83 40 Penn State – 4.8- A three year starter with good size but not good speed. Carson tackles well that’s about it. He can’t cover the receivers or tight ends and he also does not make many plays in the backfield.
13. Brock Coyle – 6’1” 235 Ilbs. 4.63 40 Montana – 4.7 - A two year starter with a decent blend of size and speed. Not much to his pass coverage. Coyle is a thumper that has a smart football IQ which could save him from an early exit of the NFL. Although he may be around the league for a little while I doubt he will ever start.
14. Uani Unga – 6’1” 231 Ilbs. 4.65 40 Brigham Young – 4.6 - He is a one year starter with an average blend of size and speed. Broke up three passes last season but not much of a pass defender. Uani had 7.5 tackles for loss and 138 tackles last season. Inexperience may have him go undrafted could stick around the league as a special teams player.
15. Dan Fox – 6’3” 233 Ilbs. 4.59 40 Notre Dame – 4.5 - Amazing combination of size and speed along with being a two year starter. Dan is okay in pass coverage but needs to get much better. He is one of those linebackers who needs to be protected in order for him to chase down tackles. Not many tackles for a loss or other playmaking ability. Looks the part but does not seem to play up to his potential.
