ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a short, thick frame with a well-developed chest, broad shoulders, good arm muscle definition, good bubble, thick thighs and defined calves … Very productive defender with above-average toughness … Shows instinctive read and react skills, as he sees blocking schemes and moves quickly to the ball … Will step up and take on the offensive guard or lead back with force to stack the inside run … Uses his hands well to play off blocks … Quick in pursuit, showing the playing speed to recover when beaten … Has above-average ease-of-movement agility in his lateral pursuit … Hard hitter who is better as a drag-down tackler than one who wraps … Can lock on and stay on the hips of tight ends and backs operating in the short-area passing game … Adequate in his pass drops working in the zone (when dropping inside and in the short area) … Has natural hands going for the interception and a sudden burst to gain long yardage on the return … Adequate blitzer who easily moves through trash and traffic to get outside.

Negatives: Quick to diagnose plays, but needs to stay in control, as he tends to over-run plays, especially when coming on the back side pursuit … Strong to stack and shed, but would be better if he uses his natural leverage … Produces a lot of arm and drag-down tackles and needs to do a better job of staying low in his pads to stalk, wrap and secure … May not have the pass-drop agility to be effective outside in a Cover-2 defense, as he appears a little stiff in the hips and is tight in his turn working the zone … Better blitzer off the edge than coming inside, but lacks an array of moves when his initial charge is defeated (depends on quickness and speed rather than pass rush moves).

… A three-year starter at inside linebacker, his quickness and range could see him shift to weakside outside linebacker at the pro level …

Positives: Terrific all-around athlete with outstanding stamina and endurance. Big, strong, fast and agile. Tough and instinctive with outstanding intangibles. Top competitor. Extremely versatile. Has the best hands on the team and is his team’s best special-teams player and tackler. Was superimpressive at the Combine and was the only one of the potential lottery picks to do all the drills.

Negatives: In a game of specialization, he really has never been locked into a position. Is more of a hybrid type who can play almost everywhere and loves to play all three phases of the game. As a result, he has not fully mastered a position. Would appear to be best suited to be an outside ’backer, but he has never really played there on a full-time basis. May be a little too big for safety in the NFL and has a lot to learn about blocking if you want to play him at tight end.