Continuing our positional draft rankings series, we switch over to the defensive side of the ball for the first time. After taking a look at the running back class earlier, we’re shifting our focusing to the guys who’ll regularly be involved in collisions with them – the linebackers. And that’s the formula we’re going to follow throughout this project.

This group of off-ball LBs is far less popular among scouting circles than their counterparts previously discussed, but there are two prospect with a pretty wide range in the first round. After that, there are three or four other names who will probably come off the board on day two and several players who should at worst be quality package players with special teams value.

Here’s the list:

 

1. Jihaad Campbell, Alabama

6’3”, 235 pounds; JR

 

In a linebacker class that lacks many clean prospects, in terms of athletic upside, size and skills for the position, Campbell stands above the rest. He’s not a perfect player by any means at this point, where he’s vulnerable to taking one false step too many and doesn’t embrace or much less thrive in head-on collisions with offensive linemen. However, he does use his length well to keep his frame clean, he glides laterally with ease as he tracks the ball and he’s explosive in short areas to navigate around trash and meet runners in the backfield with purpose. Cambell showcased his easy movement skills in a highly impressive combine workout, but you see the looseness in his movement skills across his tape. He shows good feel for space, can cover a ton of ground to force quarterbacks to turn down what looked like lay-ups pre-snap when bailing out of mugged up looks and then he slings his arms around targets to wrestle them to the ground with great success (only a 5.9% missed tackle rate in 2024). As a former edge rusher, his ability to bend, the short-area quickness to work around bodies in protection and his closing burst to force errant throws make him an intriguing movable piece as part of your pressure packages. He’ll need to refine his technique and add more hand-combats though instead of relying so much on his athleticism. I would mind spending a top-20 pick on him if you have a vision for how to use him.

 

Grade: Top 20

 

 

2. Jalon Walker, Georgia

6’2”, 245 pounds; JR

 

Walker is one of the more intriguing hybrid defenders in this draft class. While he spent over 300 snaps off the ball last season, his best tape currently is actually playing on the up front and as a moving across the front in designated passing situations. Now, they are some drawbacks with his previous development plan, where his size would indicate he’s not going to set a firm edge in the run game, but he’s also underdeveloped in IDing concepts and allowing his eyes to take him to the football. With only three passes defensed in his career and very simplistic usage in coverage, that’s an area he’s unproven in, but you do see moments of him sticking to tight-ends on crossing routes and pairs reactionary skills with length to contest passing lanes. While there’s certainly room to improve how he presents moves and how he challenges the edges of tackles in accordance with how they set on him as a rusher, he features an explosive get-off to challenge the foot speed of tackles, with the ankle flexion to dip around blockers even if his initial move doesn’t hit and strong hips to squeeze by. His quick-twitch ability is often too much to handle for guards as a stand-up rusher and when deploye as a QB spy or add-on rusher, his closing burst allow him to shut down guys who like to escape the pocket and extend plays.

 

Grade: Mid-to-late first round

 

 

3. Carson Schwesinger, UCLA

6’2”, 235 pounds; RS JR

 

A former walk-on at UCLA, Schwesinger didn’t lock down a starting job In the middle of the Bruins defense until this past season but immediately established himself as one of the top linebackers in the nation, becoming a first-team All-American with a stacked stat sheet, including a FBS-high 90 solo tackles. This guy is light on his feet to shuffle around and bounce up into holes, as he deciphers run plays, he regularly beats linemen to the spot, especially when they’re supposed to wall him off on designs to the perimeter and he’s an easy lateral mover to track the running back’s movement, where you see those guy try to play peek-a-boo with him behind combo-blocks at times, yet when they go other way, suddenly Schwesinger still shows up in front of them. This is an active communicator in zone coverage, capable of carrying slot receivers up the seams as a Tampa-2 dropper, but also aware and capable of flipping the hips around to get a hand on passes to nearby targets. He was a productive blitzer last season thanks to his suddenness to elude and slipperiness to knife through creases, and he’s a strong wrap-and-drive finisher. Although his speed was able to hide it at the college level, the former Bruin gets locked in on the backfield action or bites on some eye-candy at times, leading to false steps, he’s a little light in the pants when trying to take on lead-blockers and when O-linemen get their hands into his frame as a blitzer, Schwesinger gets gloved up pretty good. I believe in him as a starting LB who could make a couple of Pro Bowls.

 

Grade: Top 50

 

 

4. Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma

6’3”, 240 pounds; SR

 

Stutsman has been one of steadiest linebackers in college football for the last couple of years and has consistently be underrated by general draft consensus, based on being labelled a limited athlete – and then he ran a 4.52 at the combine. This guy operates with great instincts, finding the right balance between flowing with the blocking and still being aware of the ball-carrier’s movements. He reads and reacts to keys instantly and while I’d say he absorbs more force than he dishes out, he’s able to slide around traffic to keep himself in the action and has the contact balance to still get the initial wrap on the ball-carrier frequently. In coverage, Stutsman’s height makes it tough for quarterbacks to float the ball over his head and he’s highly alert for route-combinations that are supposed to move him out of the way as well as when he needs to trigger on stuff early in order to eliminate run-after-catch opportunities, such as someone slicing across the formation and leaking out into the flats. There are a few occasions where he rather just drops to extended landmarks and combining inconsistent angles with being a little rigid in his redirections leads to the vast majority of his missed tackles. In more confined space, that’s typically not an issue, and if you allow him to work different loops or cross-dogs, where he can drive through contact, he can add utility around the line of scrimmage on longer downs.

 

Grade: Late second / Early third round

 

 

5. Barrett Carter, Clemson

6’1”, 230 pounds; SR

 

For people familiar with ACC football and a Clemson program has continued to produce defensive talent, Barrett Carter’s speed has frequently flashed across their screen. This is a twitched up, explosive player who arrives in the backfield in the blink of an eye, if you give him a lane, regularly beats blockers to the spot and chases plays down with legit sideline-to-sideline range. Now, he’s still more of a see-ball get-ball type of guy, even as he’s continued to progress mentally, and has a tendency of overrunning concepts. In the passing game, he’s fully capable of lining up as a big nickel or overhang, carry slot receivers up the seam and crowding windows with his lengthy reach. He did have his worst season in coverage as a senior, due to occupying space more so than progressing mentally through combination, and some questionable angles are paired with leaving his feet too much as a tackler. Nonetheless, his quick acceleration and ability to blitz from all different angles, as well as be involved on different twist action off the edge and batting down passes that quarterbacks try to replace him with, should allow a creative defensive coordinator to have fun with him. Diagnosing plays between the tackles remains a bit of a work in progress, but it’s promising to have witnessed his play with more the violence in those close combats and being able to press off blockers in order to wrap up the ball-carrier.

 

Grade: Early third round

 

 

6. Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia

6’3”, 225 pounds; SR

 

Mondon has been one of the lesser-discussed front-seven defenders for the Bulldogs, despite all the talent coming through Athens, but he’s been a glue piece for the for the last couple of years. Although he’s built on the smaller end and his frame may not carry a whole lot more weight, of a lane opens up for him to shoot through, he gets through there in an instance and sets up negative plays. Mondon showcases excellent short-area to work around traffic and only missed 6.2% of attempted tackles since 2023. He’ll occasionally read blocking more like the running back and take himself off his landmarks – including when the quarterback actually pulls the ball on play-action – and he would benefit from developing more reliable pass-rush moves/counter hand-combats. What he provides in coverage however is rare for a linebacker. He slides in front of tight-ends and challenges routes breaking away from and you legitimately see him move out to the slot and run with slot receivers on crossers. He displays active eyes and good awareness for surrounding targets in zone assignments, with the range to robot back under deep in-breaking routes and disrupt those after letting the picture clear up underneath. To me, he’s a prototype WILL for a defensive scheme that doesn’t ask him to take on blockers a whole lot, with the value in coverage or spy duties to never leave the field.

 

Grade: Third round

 

 

7. Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon

6’1”, 230 pounds; SR

 

Although Bassa was a well-known commodity as the heart of the Ducks defense, always pointing out details and directing traffic, he really left an impression on me during Senior Bowl week with his command and magnet for the football. Rarely do you see blockers gain an advantage of him as he keys plays and beats them to a spot, yet then his forward lean and sudden hand-usage when he does have to engage with them, enables him to work off contact and help corral the ball-carrier. His active communication skills and range in coverage made him a key asset with blanketing tight-ends up the seam and not allowing guys out of the backfield to out-flank him. Bassa is prone to blindly trailing a pulling guard or bury his eyes in traffic when he occasionally charges into bigger bodies around the line of scrimmage, but when he sees things cleanly, he’ll meet the guy with the ball before any significant gains can be made. While he does get kind of eaten up when offensive linemen are able to catch him as a blitzer, he shoots downhill like a missile when attacking forward between the tackles and shows the ability to side-step running backs in protection effectively, leading to a pressure on about every fourth pass-rush snaps since 2023.

 

Grade: Top 100

 

 

8. Shemar James, Florida

6’1”, 225 pounds; JR

 

If you’re looking for an energetic, rangy leader in the middle of your defense, James may present a great value option. He significantly boosted his draft stock to me with his showing during Senior Bowl week, where he actually stepped up his game with all of those new guys around him. His combination of easy lateral movement skills to track the football, yet also the short-area burst to attack forward and suddenness to avoid contact make him a valuable asset in run defense, capable of evening out negative box counts. Although, not overflowing with plays or taking as many chances with back-dooring blocks will be required as part of his pro gig. James commands plenty of space in zone coverage, with the awareness to decipher through multiple routes, yet he also has experience flexing out with tight-ends and even when he’s a step behind, he offers the make-up gear to still disrupt the catch point. The biggest thing he’ll need to clean up is not getting caught flat-footed and ultimately clutching for air as a tackler in space, coming off a career-worst 17.3% miss rate last year. Yet, his suddenness and closing burst enables a pretty versatile role at the line of scrimmage on passing downs as well.

 

Grade: Fringe top 100

 

 

9. Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina

6’1”, 245 pounds; RS SR

 

Knight is kind of a throwback downhill thumping linebacker at 245 pounds. He packs legit knock-back power when meeting offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage before they can peel off combos, yet he’s also very good at getting underneath them anchoring against those blocks while keeping his pads square. Having said that, he’s pretty light on his feet and surprises you with his speed to track down plays at the sideline. This is someone who’ll make receivers think twice about entering his area in zone coverage with how he can dislodge the ball on contact and he’s a scary sight for both running backs having to step up in protection or quarterbacks as they feel him barreling down on them. Knight is still is a tick late to decipher the action at times when there’s some eye-candy, he’s definitely for a spot dropper than someone who will cloud passing windows to where he discourages QBs from going to nearby targets and he has very little experience in man-coverage against backs and tight-ends. If you can tap into his physicality and closing burst as a rush option, he may pay off as a mid-round pick, but right now he’s probably more of a two-down player.

 

Grade: Fringe top 100

 

 

10. Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss

6’1”, 225 pounds; RS JR

 

Paul is an undersized linebacker, who’s been an energizer bunny for two different SEC programs and plays with his hair on fire. The lateral mobility to track zone runs and not get outflanked to the corner definitely stands out and you regularly see him track down the ball scraping from the backside of concepts, being too fast for blockers to cut off his angle. Yet, he also shows the suddenness to side-step linemen climbing up to him and he brings a lot more pop as tackler than you might anticipate based on weight, driving his hips through contact and rarely missing (just 4.5% in 2024). “Pooh” displays impressive movement skills horizontally or vertically in either as a zone defender, his range to pick up and stick to receivers on crossing routes is a massive plus for the Rebels and he excels at squaring up opponents after the catch. Rushing the passer, he has some shake to him and then pairs that up well with the club-rip move to dip underneath blockers, and gets home in a hurry if given a lane (basically one QB pressure every third opportunity. Now, measuring in with arms just short of 30 inches and then running a 4.63 at just 5’11”, 222 pounds was a tough look at the combine. You see his lack of bulk show up at times in those condensed areas, getting covered up in the run game, but if you can work around some of those issues, this could be a fun run-and-chase WILL backer to target early on day three.

 

Grade: Early fourth round

 

---

 

Just missed the cut:

 

Jack Kiser, Notre Dame

6’2”, 230 pounds; RS SR

 

On the surface, a linebacker who didn’t become a full-time starter until his sixth season and only has 30.5-inch arms is a tough projection to the NFL level. I do believe context is needed here, with all the talent the Fighting Irish have had throughout his time in the program, and Kiser has been one of the best players at his position when on the field over the last two years. The sub-par length does limit his ability to punch and see through blockers rather than having to go around those, while he struggles to unglue from bigger bodies and then his range as a tackler is limited as ball-carriers sneak by him. However, he can run-shuffle-run and track down runners out to the sideline in impressive fashion, he’s quick to fall back a gap as he sees the back cut upfield and he’s patient behind double-teams to get the runner to declare, yet then has the lateral agility to mirror his movement and make the tackle for minimal yardage. For his entire career, he missed just 4.6% of attempted tackles. Notre Dame regularly asked him to run the pole in Tampa-2 or even as a hook dropper, he shows great fluidity in his hips and tracks the quarterback’s eyes and movement very well while still being aware of routes in his vicinity. Kiser will need to tone down his aggressive approach in man-coverage against NFL running backs a little bit, but his ability to erase the space, re-route them early and keep his eyes locked on the hips, results in some textbook reps.

 

 

Karene Reid, Utah

6’0”, 230 pounds; SR

 

Reid was a pleasant surprise when I got around to watching some defensive prospects for Utah over the last couple of years and even at his own position, Lander Barton – who decided to return for his senior year – was the more prominent name among the scouting community. However, this guy plays the position with instincts and diagnosing skills that are rare for a college player, where he’s Quick to trigger downhill and meat pullers or lead-blockers behind the line of scrimmage, is able to dip around contact when linemen climb up to him on combos and pro-actively uses his hands to fend off contact. A lack of length does lead to being gloved up by bigger bodies at times, where he has a tough time discarding them once they get into his frame, and he can be a little too quick too commit his shoulder scraping over top of blocks, creating cutback opportunities. Yet, because he plays so low, he’s able to work under those and drives his legs through contact to make sure ball-carriers go backwards. What really stands out me though is Reid’s presence in coverage, where he understands where his landmarks are as he reads the quarterback’s eyes, but displays excellent feel for targets in his vicinity and is constantly looking for work, slightly drifting underneath throws behind him if there’s nothing else in his peripheral vision. He can just be a step or the length of a hand short of actually deflecting passes. How little surface area he presents to blockers and the way he can win the corner when deployed rushing off the edge made him productive in that facet as well, although he’ll need to vary his approach to carry that forward to the pros.

 

 

Cody Simon, Ohio State

6’2”, 235 pounds; RS SR

 

Simon presents a pretty interesting profile. He was a top-100 national recruit in 2020, but didn’t established himself as a starter until his fifth season, when he became a team captain and anchor in the middle of the Buckeyes’ national championship defense. He plays with good bounce to his step and patience to read out concepts similar to the running back, meeting them in the hole regularly, uses his hands early to meet blockers, but is also capable of sinking his hips and dipping underneath linemen climbing up to him, even wrapping up ball-carriers while he’s partially engaged with those. In coverage, he stays true to his assignments, drifts with the eyes of the quarterback to cloud passing windows and makes opponents think about where he is after catching the ball in his vicinity earlier. You don’t see him waste time to erase the space to running backs in blitz pick-up and often times has built up enough momentum to blow through them at that point, while showing the ability to corner his rush and drive through contact in order to affect the quarterback. I don’t see the short-area agility to expand his reach in zone assignments and his shorter arms have yet to acquire reliable club-/swat-combos to defeat the hands of pass-protectors. The main limitations Simon presents is his range, but the heart and effort he plays with to not get walled off and find his way to the football makes me look beyond that as a potential starter in a scheme that primarily allows him operate between the tackles.

 

---

 

The next names up:

Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Kentucky), Teddye Buchanan (California), Cody Linderberg (Minnesota), Carson Bruener (Washington), Jay Higgins (Iowa), Kobe King (Penn State) & Shaun Dolac (Buffalo)