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April 4, 2008 By Clark Judge CBSSports.com Senior Writer Tell Clark your opinion! |
Clark Judge ranks the top five defensive prospects at each position.
| Top Prospects: Inside Linebackers |
| 1. Dan Connor, Penn State | ||||||||||
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| The skinny: Reminiscent of former Nittany Lions linebacker Paul Posluszny in that he's highly productive. The Bednarik Award winner set a school record with 419 tackles, including a Big-Ten leading 145 in 2007. He can play inside or out, returning to the middle in 2007. He's extremely instinctive and often the first one to the ball. Rarely misses tackles and is smooth dropping into pass coverage, though he doesn't have great hands. | ||||||||||
| 2. Jerod Mayo, Tennessee | ||||||||||
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| The skinny: He made the move from outside to inside linebacker and what a difference: He led the SEC in tackles with 140. Scouts may look at him as an outside backer, especially with his size and speed, but he seemed comfortable inside last season. Attacks the line and has good change of direction. | ||||||||||
| 3. Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma | ||||||||||
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| The skinny: As the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, he had an astonishing 157 tackles this season, including four that forced fumbles. He's instinctive, fast and is a reliable open-field tackler. The downside: He was a one-year starter, and there's an underwhelming history of OU linebackers in the NFL. | ||||||||||
| 4. Phillip Wheeler, Georgia Tech | ||||||||||
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| The skinny: The Yellow Jackets' leading tackler, he is underrated as a pass rusher -- with 5.5 last season. Though he started at middle linebacker last season he can play outside, too. In fact, he was recruited as a pass-rushing defensive end. He struggles in pass coverage but his skills as a blitzer could make him a perfect third-down pass rusher. | ||||||||||
| 5. Jonathan Goff, Vanderbilt | ||||||||||
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| The skinny: He led his team for the second straight year in tackles, this time accumulating a career-high 113. He's highly productive, with at least 10 tackles in six games, and he's durable with 27 straight starts at middle linebacker. A physical presence, he's best at jamming the middle against the inside run. He's also a natural leader, serving as team captain the past two seasons. | ||||||||||
| Player on the rise: |
| Mayo. At his Pro Day workout he bettered his vertical jump by seven-and-a-half inches. He has the size, temperament and versatility that coaches like, but they questioned his speed ... until he ran a 4.54 at the annual scouting combine. Next. |
| Player on the decline: |
| Connor. Look, this isn't a precipitous fall, but he was once mentioned as a Top 15 draft choice. Not anymore. As clubs start to dissect him they're finding he's not as athletic or as strong as they would like. Plus, he's a little top heavy. Nevertheless, he should be a late first or early second-round choice. |
| Sleeper |
| Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Boston College. A converted tailback, he doesn't have great size or ideal range, but the guy is productive. He has great vision and is seldom caught out of position and takes command of a huddle -- one reason he was a team captain. Bothered by a high-ankle sprain last year, he missed two games and was limited in three others. BC was 2-3 while he was away. |
| Overrated |
| Beau Bell, UNLV. Some people have him in the top five, but he's too top heavy and plays stiff. I know he was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and led the conference in tackles, but he's a straight-ahead runner with limited change of direction. |
| Position analysis: |
| This is not the year to look for an inside linebacker. There is a marked dropoff after the first three, with the rest of the field looking at a second-day draft. In short, don't look for a Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans or David Harris here. Connor is the best of the lot, and scouts are conflicted about just how good he is ... or can be. |
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