| Score | Overall |
| 82.2 | 58 |
| Position | Day |
| 1 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 82.2 | 1 | 2 | 58 |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Weight: | 249 lbs |
| Hands: | 10.25 | Arms: | 31.88 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.65 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Vertical: | 37.5 | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | 4.24 | Cone: | 6.74 |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Hands: | 10.25 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.65 |
| Weight: | 249 lbs | Arms: | 31.88 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | 6.74 | ||
| Vertical: | 37.5 | Shuttle: | 4.24 |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Hands: | 10.25 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.65 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | 6.74 |
| Weight: | 249 lbs | Arms: | 31.88 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 | Vertical: | 37.5 | Shuttle: | 4.24 |
Campbell is from Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he attended Cedar Falls High School. In high school, he led his team to a 4A State Championship in basketball in 2018. On the football field, he set a school record with 338 career tackles and was named District Player of the Year in his final season. Campbell was a three-star recruit and received offers from schools such as Iowa, Iowa State, and Nebraska, but ultimately committed to play at the University of Iowa. During his college career, Campbell earned several accolades, including being named the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy winner, 2022 Butkus Award winner, and Consensus All-American. He was also named the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and was a second-team All-American in 2021. Additionally, he was recognized as an Academic All-Big Ten for three consecutive years from 2020-2022.
Big frame with good length. Campbell is the prototype MIKE linebacker from a size standpoint. He has the requisite size to take on blockers but is not so big he becomes an awkward mover.
A monster defending the run. He is a throwback-type linebacker in this regard. Campbell’s instincts are exceptional. He understands blocking schemes, reads out plays quickly, and is quick to trigger his run fit. He pairs that high football IQ with top-notch stack and shed ability. He engages blockers with urgency and strength and quickly disposes of them. He is good at the hand-fighting battle as well and doesn’t let blockers get exposure to his chest. He displays efficient and quick scraping ability, getting gap-to-gap, and is good at giving himself favorable angles to dip blockers outright.
High floor as coverage defender. Campbell's instincts pop again in the pass game as a zone defender. He doesn’t waste movement, relates well to routes in front of him and/or gets to his landmark efficiently. He is good at reading the quarterback, understanding route concepts, and has good ball skills to minimize what is happening in front of him. I don’t think he has the fluidness or explosive movements required to be a great coverage defender, especially in man, but he shouldn’t be a liability.
Intangibles. Campbell was a two-time captain at Iowa with a high football IQ and was the leader of the defense. Campbell is perceived to be the quintessential "green-dot quarterback" of the defense.
Better tester than a functional athlete. Campbell's Combine workout was absolutely shocking to me. I never viewed Campbell as a subpar athlete, but in no world did I think he was of the elite variety either. This shows up in his tape too — he clearly lacks quick twitch movements in just about every facet.
Not a downhill player. This could be another referendum on Campbell’s relative lack of juice, but ultimately he isn’t a guy who is going to knife gaps and get into the backfield. He plays everything incredibly safe and patient and prefers to force runs wide than attacking them behind the line of scrimmage.
Lack of closing burst. Once again, despite athletic testing through the roof, this is a clear deficiency in Campbell’s game, most likely due to lack of twitch and change-of-direction skills. I worry about his ability to tackle in the open field at the next level with his limited range and ability to consistently close distance on ball carriers to set them down before they can react.
Campbell was a very tough evaluation for me. On one hand, Campbell very clearly doesn’t bring anything special to the table. But his instincts, play strength, and leadership qualities make him an incredibly safe player. I typically value linebackers with more ability to affect the pass game, but those guys are just so rare, maybe "safe" is good enough. In a very weak linebacker class, Campbell scores as my LB1 and is a top-75 player for me. He is easily the best pure MIKE in the draft and will likely go higher than my grade suggests he should.
| Score | Overall |
| 81.3 | 62 |
| Position | Day |
| 2 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 81.3 | 2 | 2 | 62 |
| Height: | 6' | Weight: | 225 lbs |
| Hands: | 9.5 | Arms: | 33 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.54 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 |
| Vertical: | 35 | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' | Hands: | 9.5 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.54 |
| Weight: | 225 lbs | Arms: | 33 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | 35 | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' | Hands: | 9.5 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.54 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 225 lbs | Arms: | 33 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 | Vertical: | 35 | Shuttle: | -- |
Henley is from Los Angeles, California, where he attended Crenshaw High School. He was recruited out of high school as a two-star wide receiver recruit and had only one FBS offer, from Nevada. He spent two seasons as a wide receiver before transitioning to safety in his junior season. He suffered a season-ending injury and used a medical redshirt for the season. In the following year, he earned 2021 All-MWC Second Team honors playing linebacker and entered the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility. He chose to go to Washington State over offers from USC, Kansas State, and Washington. In his final season, he earned several accolades, including 2022 All-America Second Team, 2022 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team, and 2022 Butkus Award Finalist.
Easy mover with an A+ athletic profile. Henley checks all the boxes for a modern-day linebacker who will need to excel in coverage and in space at the NFL level. He is explosive with exceptional change-of-direction ability. Physically speaking, Henley can cover a ton of ground in the run game as well and defeat blockers working to the second level with quickness.
Play recognition is NFL-ready. He is very quick to diagnose run concepts, analyze the point of attack, and identify pullers. HIs recognition skills, mixed with his quickness, allow him to evade blockers with relative ease and blow up run plays, especially those working outside the tackles.
Pass-defense weapon. Henley has all the desirable physical traits to be good in coverage. He also has the IQ and reaction to time to excel at it as well. He can match up with tight ends and play man or can drop in zone effectively, matching patterns underneath with fluid hip movement and easy change of direction. He has good length and closing speed to break on the football underneath him and close down passing lanes in the middle of the field. Henley is also a very good pass-rusher from off-ball alignments. He uses excellent timing and explosiveness to be disruptive and get to the quarterback.
Good open-field tacker. Henley has strong hands and uses sound technique to bring ball carriers down. His length and closing speed give him good striking distance as well.
Play strength needs work. Henley isn’t a guy who is going to excel sticking his face in a fan and jacking up guards/tackles working to the second level. But he does need to do a better job working to get off blocks when they do get their hands on him. As it stands now, if Henley isn’t able to slip a block, he’s probably getting removed from the play. He did make a sizable improvement in this area from 2021 to 2022, and it is also important to remember he has only played linebacker for roughly 1.5 seasons. I wonder if an NFL staff will have him add a little weight to his frame — I would like to see him do so, but only if it didn’t cost him quickness.
Older prospect. Henley was a 6th-year senior this past season. But considering he started his college career as a WR, I am pretty much overlooking this for my personal evaluation.
Lacks "stopping power." While Henley is a sure tackler, he will cede extra yards to bigger players who can churn the legs or are good at “falling forward.” He will give up the occasional unnecessary first down as a result. I would like to see him tighten this up and explode into ballcarriers a bit more.
Henley is my top-rated WILL linebacker in this class, largely because of the way he can affect the pass game as a coverage specialist or pass-rusher. He will need to get more physical to thrive on run downs in the NFL, but I am willing to live with that given the physical traits and instincts present. He scores as a day-2 player for me.
| Score | Overall |
| 77.7 | 81 |
| Position | Day |
| 3 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 77.7 | 3 | 2 | 81 |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Weight: | 235 lbs |
| Hands: | 10.25 | Arms: | 32.38 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.43 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 |
| Vertical: | -- | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 10.25 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.43 |
| Weight: | 235 lbs | Arms: | 32.38 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 10.25 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.43 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 235 lbs | Arms: | 32.38 | 10 YD Split: | 1.55 | Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
Simpson, hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, played both running back and linebacker at Mallard Creek High School. As a senior, he was named North Carolina High School Football Player of the Year. Simpson was a highly coveted five-recruit with offers from schools such as Georgia, LSU, and Michigan. He ultimately chose to attend Clemson University. During his college career, he earned several accolades, including being named a semifinalist for the 2022 Butkus Award, as well as earning third-team All-ACC honors in both 2021 and 2022. Additionally, he has been recognized as an All-ACC Academic Team selection in both seasons. He finished his college career with 164 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks.
Impressive body composition. Simpson follows in a growing line of ridiculously built, positionless athletes. He is muscular and carries all 240 of his pounds incredibly well. An intimidating force.
Incredible, fluid athlete. A+ change of direction skills, explosiveness, and fluidity define Simpson’s game. He has unlocked hips and flexible ankles and can do just about anything with his body. This gives him incredible range and ability to get into the backfield in a hurry.
Effective blitzer and man coverage defender. I am all about linebackers who can affect the pass game, and Simpson can do that to an extent. He was best used as an extra pass-rusher where he can solely rely on that athleticism to get free rushes or easy 1-v-1s against running backs. His closing speed is too much for quarterbacks to evade, and they either take a hit or are forced to get rid of the ball quickly. In man coverage, Simpson is comfortable playing in phase and using his athleticism to chase players around the field. He actually primarily played the slot CB/overhang role in 2021 before moving to linebacker in 2022.
New to the linebacker position. With only one year under his belt as a true linebacker, Simpson is a very slow processor and inconsistent at reading what is happening in front of him. Some may view this as not a big problem considering his time on the job, but considering the recent track record of positionless defenders from Clemson — Isaiah Simmons, Tanner Muse, and K’Von Wallace — I certainly have my doubts.
**Coverage prowess is only good in theory. **It is easy to see the physical traits and think Simpson projects as an elite coverage defender in the NFL, but the instincts and ability to match route concepts in zone are just so poor right now that it’s hard to see him transitioning quickly. Despite his ability to flip and run in man, he is a liability in coverage at this moment.
Doesn’t play with the physicality of a linebacker. For a guy who is as physically impressive as Simmons, you would really want him to be able to dominate blockers at the point of attack. Like similar athletic marvels at the position of recent drafts, Simmons almost exclusively tries to beat blocks with athleticism and dipping them without having to make contact. This often leads to him being out of position, having poor angles on the ball carrier, or him just simply getting swallowed by offensive linemen. He needs to learn some elements of stack-and-shed if he is going to be even average as a run defender.
Simpson best translates as a WILL linebacker who, at this point, is 100% a project player. He needs development and more time on the job as a linebacker before he is unleashed in a full-time role for a defense. With that said, the physical traits are so outstanding that if you can get his processing up to speed, you might have a special player on your hands. There is certainly risk involved, though. Officially he scores as a mid to late-day 2 player.
| Score | Overall |
| 76.5 | 91 |
| Position | Day |
| 4 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 76.5 | 4 | 2 | 91 |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Weight: | 229 lbs |
| Hands: | 9.5 | Arms: | 32.25 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.56 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Vertical: | -- | Broad: | 124 |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 9.5 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.56 |
| Weight: | 229 lbs | Arms: | 32.25 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Broad: | 124 | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 9.5 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.56 | Broad: | 124 | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 229 lbs | Arms: | 32.25 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 | Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
Overshown is from Arp, Texas. He attended Arp High School, where he was an All-America, all-state, and all-district honoree. Overshown was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and received offers from schools such as Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. He ultimately committed to playing college football for the University of Texas. He spent the first two seasons of his college career as a defensive back before switching to linebacker before his 2020 junior season. In his college career, Overshown has earned several accolades, including being named a 2022 first-team All-Big 12 player and a 2022 Butkus Award semifinalist. He was also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award in 2021 and received All-Big 12 honorable mention as a linebacker in both 2020 and 2021. He finished his career with 89 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks.
Exceptional athlete with good length and fluidity. Overshown is explosive, with oily hips, and has fantastic change of direction skills. His length is an asset as well, especially in the pass game.
Coverage ability is top-tier. If a team makes a significant investment into Overshown, it will undoubtedly be due to his ability in coverage. As a former safety, he has the coverage chops you would expect. His fluid movements and change-of-direction skills, along with his length, allow him to shut down throwing windows in zone. He is capable of covering an insane amount of ground and has good instincts for matching concepts and reading the quarterback’s eyes. He has the explosive twitch and oily hips to turn and run in man coverage. Playing in phase is not a challenge for him, and he could be a "tight end eraser" at the next level.
Big-time blitz ability. His first-step quickness and closing burst make him a threat to disrupt the quarterback as an extra rusher on just about any play.
Special teams ace. Overshown easily steps in as a core special teamer right away, which is critical added value for a guy who might have a limited role on defense.
Slender frame and limited play strength. Overshown is super skinny, and it shows up when defending the run. When opposing blockers get their hands on him, he really struggles to get off the block and gets moved easily. He really needs to add weight to his frame.
Balance issues/control issues. Overshown is on the ground way too much for a linebacker. Whether it's getting swallowed up in the flow of a run play or engaging ball carriers completely out of control, you can routinely find him on the ground. Missed tackles were a massive issue for him in 2022.
Overshown currently projects as a pass-game specialist who will be limited to obvious pass-downs and special teams early in his career. While he has exceptional range as a run defender, he will struggle against teams who attack the middle of the defense with their run game. As he gets bigger, stronger, and starts to develop a linebacker mentality in the way he handles blockers, he could develop into an every-down player, but this is far from a guarantee. In particular, his balance issues have been troubling. For me, his ability to affect the pass game makes him worth taking a swing early on day 3 or even late on day 2.
