| HEIGHT | 6' 3 1/2" | ||
| WEIGHT | 243 lbs | WINGSPAN | 77 3/8" |
| 40 TIME | 4.42 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Andersen will no doubt lead to some serious pre-draft discussions, with so many factors coming into play as you talk about projecting and transitioning him to the next level. Andersen will likely get the small-school FCS label thrown at him by many evaluators, but in the next breath teams will look at his superhero Combine performance as reflective of athletic and physical traits that without question not only have a place, but can lead to success at a high level in the NFL. What Andersen brings to the table at the stacked LB position is prototypical size, length, and outstanding athleticism and speed with the range to make plays sideline-to-sideline and the spatial awareness to play zone coverage effectively. What Andersen must work on as he enters the NFL is his run defense in the box, where despite his size and overall length, he does not yet have a feel for stack-and-shed, taking on OL blocks with hand strength and playing off and displacing them to make tackles in the run game. Andersen is a high-level athlete for his size and there are not many stacked LBs with his athletic traits profile, and for that reason he will be in demand at the next level. My sense is he will begin his career on the defensive side of the ball (he will play special teams) as a nickel LB, with his play speed, range, and zone coverage background for a team that plays a higher percentage of zone coverage concepts in their sub defenses, since Andersen's man matchup skills based solely on tape study are a projection. Andersen certainly has the size/length athletic profile to match up to quality receiving TEs, but he was not aske to do that at Montana State.There is no question, if Andersen can develop his game in the areas that need work and can match up to TEs, that he could become a complete three-down LB.
| HEIGHT | 6' 0 1/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 226 lbs | WINGSPAN | 79" |
| 40 TIME | 4.56 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Asamoah played an athletic movement, velocity, range game as a stacked LB and that profile is in high demand in the NFL, with the emphasis on 11 personnel and the passing game/ Asamoah played sideline-to-sideline with outstanding play speed and range as well any LB I watched on tape, and there was never any hesitation in his reaction time, but despite his less than ideal size for a stacked LB he also played with a physical element in the box, showing stack-and-shed ability in the run game. Oklahoma featured a strong emphasis on slant and scrape principles with its defensive front, so there were significant snaps in which Asamoah scraped into a pre-designed gap based on the front call, but there was always a natural quickness and velocity to his movement. With his size, athletic traits, play speed, and range, Asamoah will transition best to the next level in a base defense as a weak-side stacked LB in a 5-2/3-4 front or as a WILL in a more conventional 4-3 front. The question with Asamoah, because you did not see it on tape, will be his man-to-man coverage ability, especially versus TEs given his lack of length. Some could see Asamoah similarly to Nick Bolton coming out of Missouri a year ago as a 2nd-round pick of the Chiefs (and Bolton was a significant part of the Kansas City defense both in base and nickel), in that both are a little undersized but have explosive physical traits, with Bolton more dynamic in the box and Asamoah more of a run-and-chase, sideline-to-sideline, speed-and-range player.
| HEIGHT | 6' 3 3/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 237 lbs | WINGSPAN | 80 5/8" |
| 40 TIME | -- | SHUTTLE | -- |
At first glance it may appear that Beavers, with his lack of high-level athleticism and explosive movement traits, might not project and transition effectively to the next level given the evolution of NFL offenses/passing games, but you have to watch a lot of snaps to really get a feel and a complete picture of his game and what he brings to the table. Beavers is a multi-dimensional and multi-positional player who lined up as a stacked LB, an edge pass rusher, and a boundary slot defender. Despite this, he was assignment sound and execution efficient in all areas of responsibility. While Beavers may lack ideal athletic attributes, what consistently stood out was well he played with his eyes, keying and diagnosing and then reacting with the needed quickness to make plays, and he made far more pursuit plays that one might think with stride length and range. Beavers always looked under control and on balance. never playing too fast or hurried, and he had a great feel for finding gaps and making plays in the run game/ My sense watching Beavers was that he could be deployed much in the way Bill Belichick used Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy as multi-positional players who could many things within the context of a multiple defensive approach. Beavers is good player and prospect and he will find a place in the NFL, but it will be a function of team and scheme. If used to play to his strengths, he will be a strong contributor in multiple ways.
| HEIGHT | 6' 0 7/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 224 lbs | WINGSPAN | 73" |
| 40 TIME | -- | SHUTTLE | 4.25 |
Bernard was one of those players who the more I watched, the more I liked as a multi-dimensional LB, who could play in the box as a stacked LB in your base defense and play as a multi-alignment LB in your nickel defense, with both coverage and blitz traits. Bernard will likely be seen as undersized by many as teams project and transition him to the NFL, but his tape in 2021 was strong with a traits profile that I believe will eventually lead to him having an opportunity to be a three-down LB depending on the defensive scheme. Bernard is not elite or explosive in his movement, and at times his inside out sideline-to-sideline play speed and range looked a beat choppy, but there is no question he has the overall movement traits to make plays outside the box. What stood out on his 2021 tape was his improvement in pass coverage as the season progressed, with a much better feel for playing with his eyes and understanding where routes were coming from. Bernard has an injury history that will certainly be an issue for some teams, but his traits and his tape strongly suggest that he could develop into a three-down LB at the next level.
| HEIGHT | 6' 2 3/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 232 lbs | WINGSPAN | 31 1/4" |
| 40 TIME | 4.57 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Campbell was a fun player to watch with his high level of activity and competitiveness, but he will face some challenges transitioning to the next level. Campbell has good size and length and he plays with physical toughness in the confined space of the box, but he lacks demanded athleticism, functional play speed, and range that becomes evident when he has to stride out and run. Ole Miss did not use Campbell as a man matchup LB either on backs or TEs, so that tells you the coaching staff did not feel that he could do that well, and that would be a concern and a significant projection as you think about Campbell's transition to the next level. Can Campbell find a place in the NFL as a base defense stacked LB in a 5-2 front in the way that Troy Reeder did for the Rams? Overall Campbell lacks the athleticism and range to be more than a base defense stacked LB, and he may not be good enough to succeed in that role at the next level.
| HEIGHT | 6' 2 5/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 250" lbs | WINGSPAN | 75 1/2" |
| 40 TIME | 4.53 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Chenal is the one of the most fascinating stacked LB prospects in the 2022 Draft as you project and transition him to the next level. He has a strong, compact build with sudden and explosive movement traits in confined space. He plays with power, velocity, and strong hands attacking downhill in the run game, both shooting gaps and "collisioning" OL, then staying balanced with body control to make plays. Chenal showed functional range outside the box with his straight-line burst and speed to make plays within the numbers, but he is a little tight-hipped and linear in his movement, and that negatively impacted his ability to play with flexibility and change direction seamlessly. Chenal is straight-line powerful and explosive, and he was an excellent blitzer within the context of Wisconsin's high percentage pressure defense, showing the ability to drive through half a man and close to the QB with burst. One question is whether Chenal is more scheme specific as you transition him to the next level, having to play in a defensive scheme that features him as a blitzer/pass rusher. Can Chenal be a three-down LB playing stacked in your base defense, and then being featured as a movable chess piece pressure player on 3rd down and in your blitz schemes? The bottom line with Chenal is he will likely be team and scheme specific, since you do not want to inhibit his blitz ability, which is one of his strongest traits.
| HEIGHT | 6' 2 1/2" | ||
| WEIGHT | 239 lbs | WINGSPAN | 78 1/2" |
| 40 TIME | 4.57 | SHUTTLE | -- |
**NOTE: CLARK COULD MISS HIS ENTIRE ROOKIE SEASON AFTER UNDERGOING SPINAL FUSION SURGERY. ** Clark is a high-level athlete for the stacked LB position, and his size/length/movement profile is what NFL teams are looking for, and that makes him a very intriguing prospect. He has explosive traits as a mover, with the athleticism and stride length to be a playmaker sideline-to-sideline with speed and range. One thing you did not see much of with Clark, despite his high tackles total, was consistent physicality in the box in the run game, and that is an area he must improve if he is to become a three-down LB at the next level. Clark also at times struggled with key-and-diagnose, with his reaction time in the run game a beat slow, and that is another area he must improve if he is to make a strong transition to the NFL as a centerpiece of a defense. Clark will enter the NFL as a high-level athlete at the LB position with outstanding length, explosive play speed, and range to make plays all over the field. As the 2021 season progressed, LSU used him more as an on-the-ball pass rusher, and that added another element to his game that will project well to the next level. Clark gives a defense a playmaking dimension with his size/speed profile and it is likely he will begin his NFL career as a sub-defense LB with the ability to develop into a three-down LB as he gains more experience and gets a better feel for the physical demands of the game.
| HEIGHT | 5' 11 1/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 229 lbs | WINGSPAN | 76 1/8" |
| 40 TIME | -- | SHUTTLE | -- |
Dean is a strong prospect as you project and transition him to the NFL, yet there may be a certain amount of scheme specificity to his projection, much in the way Patrick Queen out of LSU a few years ago went to the Ravens in an aggressive pressure scheme that fit his traits very well. Dean is a shorter and smaller than a desired stacked LB, with high-level run-and-chase qualities who is most effective as a run defender when he can be clean to the football, although there were snaps in which he proactively played through contact to make tackles. He played in a Georgia defense that asked him to shoot gaps and blitz a good percentage and featured multiple stunt concepts that accentuated his downhill explosiveness. Dean showed excellent short-area quickness and explosiveness in the box, with the sudden movement to proactively stack and shed when he keyed and diagnosed quickly, and the lateral twitch to avoid blocks and still maintain gap integrity. Dean has three-down traits with his outstanding blitzing ability, and that will be a factor in his projection and transition to the next level, where at the very least he will play in sub defenses. Overall, there was an explosive feel to Dean's game and that will likely translate effectively to the next level despite his less than ideal size. There are not many inside LBs with his combination of play speed/range, short-area explosiveness, and feel for working in confined space with burst and velocity, plus his outstanding blitzing ability. The more I watched Dean the more I felt he was a strong prospect. In some ways as a stacked box run LB, given the similarities in size, Dean reminded me of Nick Bolton coming out of Missouri in last year's Draft.
| HEIGHT | 6' 0 1/2" | ||
| WEIGHT | 226 lbs | WINGSPAN | 76 3/4" |
| 40 TIME | 4.44 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Harris fits the profile of today's NFL stacked LBs with his athleticism, movement traits, and his ability to defend the pass both as an underneath zone defender and a man match defender on TEs, backs, and, at times, WRs depending on the coverage call. Harris showed easy movement and natural quickness in the box as a run defender, with the short-area juice and scrape-and-flow to avoid blocks and make plays in the run game. Most will see him as a WILL LB projection given his size and athleticism, and that makes sense given his run-and-chase-and-hit traits. There was an explosive element to Harris' game, with a twitchy and sudden feel to his movement, and that consistently showed up in his ability to play the run in the box. My sense is Harris will be an ascending player given that he did not play LB until he got to Alabama, and his transition to the position has been comfortable with his overall athletic traits providing a strong foundation for a positive projection to the next level. Harris can defend the run and play man and zone in pass coverage and he can add in the pass rush in sub fronts, and that versatility will make him a three-down LB in the NFL, if not as a rookie, but certainly once he gains experience.
| HEIGHT | 6' 2 3/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 237 lbs | WINGSPAN | 80 1/4" |
| 40 TIME | 4.66 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Based on both his 2020 and 2021 tape, Lloyd projects as a higher-level prospect who transitions to the NFL as a three-down LB with his strong combination of athleticism, physicality, alignment versatility, competitiveness, and durability (he did not come off the field), although I thought his 2020 tape was consistently stronger than his 2021 tape. Overall Lloyd's tape showed a long, twitchy, sudden, explosive athlete who was effective as a stacked LB with his lateral quickness, short-area burst, physicality to shed blocks, and his strong tackling ability, and also showed the space movement and awareness to play underneath zone coverage. There was a stalking feel to his movement in the box with his 6'3 height and high-cut frame with long legs. Lloyd was a multi-dimensional LB who showed the athletic traits to play all three downs at the next level, including being used as a blitzer and edge rusher in sub defenses and matching up man-to-man on TE (he did not do this often but it was there on tape). Lloyd clearly has a playmaking dimension to game, and his ability to be an impact player in different ways will get defensive coaches excited. Lloyd at times reminded me of Darius Leonard coming out of South Carolina State with his desirable combination of length, athleticism, and positional versatility, and he can be deployed in multiple ways in NFL defenses. I believe that Lloyd has the size and physical traits to be a higher level three-down LB, much like Leonard, Fred Warner, and Demario Davis.
| HEIGHT | 5' 11 3/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 228 lbs | WINGSPAN | 75 1/4" |
| 40 TIME | 4.69 | SHUTTLE | -- |
McClain was a fun player to evaluate with his high energy and competitive playing personality, and as I continued to watch his tape and thought about his projection and transition to the NFL, he kept growing on me. McClain is not a great athlete or a sudden explosive mover, but he is an above-the-line athlete who played the game fast with constant movement and competitive toughness snap after snap. McClain was quick to key and diagnose run plays and there was no hesitation in his reaction time, so his play speed and range was far more than functional despite his lack of higher level athleticism and explosiveness. McClain had an excellent feel for working in the box, scraping and flowing from gap to gap and navigating through traffic to make tackles in the run game. McClain showed an excellent feel as an underneath zone coverage defender with a strong sense of spatial awareness, in addition to playing with his eyes effectively to see routes and then trigger to make tackles to limit yards-after-catch. McClain's ability to match up man-to-man on quality NFL TEs is a question that needs to be answered, since his man matchup traits were inconclusive based on his 2021 tape. My sense the more I watched McClain is that he could develop into an NFL starter in the right scheme, where he can play stacked behind a 5-man front or a really good 4-man front and run and flow to the football. The other factor would be a team that features a higher percentage of zone coverage than man coverage, allowing McClain to play to his strength as an underneath zone defender.
| HEIGHT | 6' 4 3/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 249 lbs | WINGSPAN | 83 5/8" |
| 40 TIME | 4.76 | SHUTTLE | 4.55 |
Moon is a fascinating prospect given his size and length (including exceptionally long arms) and position versatility, and my sense is his projection and transition to the next level will be seen differently by many NFL teams. Moon was used in multiple ways at Florida in 2021, with significant snaps at stacked linebacker and on the ball -- both on the edge and inside -- and some snaps as an overhang and bumped out defender over the slot. Moon is long with a sleek-looking frame, but you would not call him a sudden or explosive mover (in the way that Isaiah Simmons is), with his movements tending to be more segmented and choppy than smooth and fluid, resulting in slower transition and change of direction. Moon is not quite a good enough athlete to be a multi-positional defender in the NFL, so the question becomes where can you line him up to maximize and accentuate his traits. There were snaps Moon showed edge pass rush traits that left me thinking there was something there to unlock and unleash with coaching and development, and that could be the focus of his transition to the NFL. I did not see him as a starting stacked LB since he lacked the short-area quickness and natural strength and power in confined space to be a box run defender, but that raises the question of whether he can be a sub defense LB, and I think he might be able to fill that role for a team that plays a higher percentage zone on 3rd down. There were times watching Moon I thought of Lorenzo Carter when he came out of Georgia in the 2018 draft as a third-round pick of the Giants. My sense is Moon will not be drafted that high in the 2022 Draft given that Carter ran much better (4.46 to Moon's 4.76, and Moon did not play fast on tape).
| HEIGHT | 6'2 3/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 239 lbs | WINGSPAN | 75 3/4" |
| 40 TIME | 4.63 | SHUTTLE | 4.28 |
Muma will get the "level of competition" label lobbied at him as evaluators look to project and transition him to the higher level of NFL football. Muma is a fascinating projection due to his high level of meaningful production at Wyoming, yet there are some concerns as you transition him to the NFL, and those concerns would be present even if he played at a Power 5 school. Muma was a fun player to watch on tape with his high-level intensity and competitiveness snap-after-snap. I enjoyed his high-velocity, see-it-and-go style of play that saw him make a lot of plays outside the box with his plus play speed and range. He played with a strong feel for key-and-diagnose, and his reactions were consistently quick within the box, plus he showed a good feel for working within confined space, both slipping blocks and playing off blocks. The concerns arise when you look beyond the production and project Muma to the next level. There is no question he played fast on tape, but he is not a sudden or explosive athlete, and his high-cut frame could well cause change of direction, balance, and body control issues. There will also be questions as to his ability to match up man-to-man on TEs in the passing game, and that's an area where teams will need to do their due diligence. Overall I loved watching Muma's tape and I ultimately believe he can become a quality starting stacked LB in the NFL given his processing, his recognition/reaction, and his plus play speed. Is there a comparison to be made to Pete Werner coming out of Ohio State a year ago? Werner was a second-round pick of the Saints.
| HEIGHT | 6' 1 5/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 234 lbs | WINGSPAN | 74 1/8 |
| 40 TIME | 4.73 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Sanborn is one of those evaluations where you say to yourself he's a good football player, and then think about his projection and transition to the NFL. My sense is Sanborn can develop into a starting stacked LB in a base 4-3 or 5-2 defensive front but would not play in sub defenses, at least not early in his career. Sanborn consistently showed excellent key and diagnose, with an innate instinctive feel for navigating the box in the run game, both slipping blockers (which he did as well as any stacked LB I evaluated in this draft class) and playing off blocks with stack and shed traits. The more I watched Sanborn, the more his ability to work effectively in the box as a defender stood out. He saw things quickly and clearly and was almost always in good position to make tackles. There is no question he will get dinged for his lack of higher-level athleticism, and there is no question he is not sudden and explosive in his movement, but his 2021 tape showed a consistent and efficient stacked LB who made tackles in the run game.
| HEIGHT | 6' 3 1/2" | ||
| WEIGHT | 250 lbs | WINGSPAN | 81 1/2" |
| 40 TIME | 4.52 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Smith was one of the most frustrating players to evaluate given the sharp distinction between his athletic and movement measurables and his play on the field. Smith was a higher-level tester with strong athletic and explosive measurables, but his tape from the 2021 season was consistently disappointing in that his movement on the field rarely matched his athletic traits. Smith is a big, fast athlete with explosive traits, but he rarely played that way, showing little snap and suddenness to his movement and a lack of overall physicality/functional strength and effective hand usage as the boundary stacked LB. Smith's size/length/athleticism profile is prototypical and exactly what NFL teams are looking for at LB, and there is no question his tape is littered with high-level flashes of what you want at the next level. Smith has extensive experience playing underneath zone coverage and matching up man-to-man on backs and TEs, and he was often used as a blitzer in Penn State's sub fronts, which might be an early way for him to get on the field while he develops and cultivates his traits. Smith showed explosive downhill burst as a blitzer, and I could see a DC using him that way in sub defenses. If the light goes on for Smith and the flashes become the foundation of his game rather than the exceptions, he can become a quality and even a higher-level three-down LB in the NFL, but at this point that is an open question.
| HEIGHT | 6' 0 1/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 233 lbs | WINGSPAN | 75 5/8" |
| 40 TIME | 4.6 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Spector is a steady, rock-solid stacked LB with strong key and diagnose traits and high-level competitiveness who was featured as an early-down run defender and underneath zone coverage defender and blitzer-rusher in some sub defenses. Spector does not quite possess the traits you would like to see from the stacked LB position, lacking desired athleticism, play strength, and inside-out/sideline-to-sideline play speed and range, but having said that you're dealing with a productive, high-motor player who competed and battled on every snap. It is hard to see Spector as a quality starter in a base defense given his size, play strength, and movement limitations, so he would likely have to earn his stripes on special teams while ideally getting stronger to become more of a factor as a box run defender.
| HEIGHT | 6' 1 7/8" | ||
| WEIGHT | 230 lbs | WINGSPAN | 77 1/8" |
| 40 TIME | 4.47 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Tindall was one of the most intriguing defensive players to evaluate given his dynamic playing traits and constant movement and activity, and he is a fascinating projection to the next level. His game was built on sideline-to-sideline play speed and range, and he consistently made plays running from his stacked LB alignment outside the numbers. He was also featured at times as a blitzer and was very effective, both rushing from both inside the formation and off the edge or the slot. He was used at times as an edge pass rusher and he showed there might be some traits to unlock and unleash in that role, giving him even more versatility and flexibility in sub defense packages. Tindall played effectively in the box in the run game with a compact, coiled feel to his movement, playing with excellent balance and body control, and he showed scrape-and-flow/run-and-chase traits, in addition to playing with some physicality taking on OL blocks. Tindall showed some issues at times with his key-and-diagnose and his eyes getting stuck in the wrong place, and while he showed outstanding play speed and range, he was more straight-line and linear in his movement than loose-hipped with easy change of direction. Overall there is much like about Tindall's game and my strong sense is that he will develop into a starting stacked LB in the NFL sooner than later, with sub package versatility as a movable chess piece who can rush the QB.
| HEIGHT | 6' 3 3/4" | ||
| WEIGHT | 241 lbs | WINGSPAN | 79 7/8" |
| 40 TIME | 4.52 | SHUTTLE | -- |
Walker's size/length/movement profile is what NFL teams are looking for as you project and transition him to the next level. Walker has outstanding size, length, play speed, and range, and when you combine that with his key-and-diagnose/read-and-react instincts, you have a stacked LB with a full complement of traits needed to become a quality starting LB and perhaps much more. What also stood out with Walker was his efficiency in the box as a run defender, both scraping and flowing and playing through contact. Walker has similar size and athletic traits to Jamin Davis coming out of Kentucky a year ago (drafted by Washington in the first round) but Walker plays with his eyes much better than Davis did. The more I watched Walker the more I liked him. I think he is one of the best stacked LB prospects in the 2022 Draft.
