2022 NFL Draft: LB Rankings:
1. Devin Lloyd (Utah)
Lloyd is an aggressive downhill LB that possesses good speed to close down quickly on the ball carrier. He is an extremely hard hitter and he has th size to backup the physicality. Lloyd is a sure tackler, not only wrapping up, but getting him to the ground in what seems like an instand. And he does that while at his top speed. He was used at times as an edge rusher with some success. It isn’t where I’d use him in the NFL, but hey, the more you can do, the better. Lloyd is solid in coverage, especially in zone when the play is in front of his. He has the burst to jump in front of the target to breakup the pass.
Lloyd is a fine athlete, but you could say a bit linear. Nothing crazy, but you do see a little stiffness when he is moving laterally, and his backpedal can be a bit robotic. Lloyd was not prone to a few mental lapses during games. There are areas where he can still improve as a processor on the field. Instances of overrunning his target are present, and he will have to iron out that kink.
Lloyd projects as a high quality starting LB, with the athleticism and size to be a the leader and tone setter of a defence. His aggressivenes and physicality have led to some splash plays, and as he continues to iron out the kinks, he should be able to grow even more
| Grade: 86.7 | Round Grade: 1st |
2. Nakobe Dean (Georgia)
Dean is an athletic LB with sideline to sideline ability. It doesn’t take him long to get up to full speed, and he can fly over from the other side of the field to tackle the ball carrier. His ability as a blitzer can cause excitement. He explodes through gaps, giving the linemen almost no time to react. Dean has ability in coverage. His quick feet allow him to lock down shallow zones, while his speed and fluidity allow him to patrol deeper parts of the field. Dean has seen snaps lined up man to man against RB’s, and he has had success, even when isolated on the outside. His burst allows him to undercut routes in time to either break up or intercept the pass.
Dean is a prospect with good upside, but is not without his flaws. The mental part of his game is still developing, and the recognition skills are a work in progress. Dean will sometimes take poor angles in run support, leading to overruns. He is an aggressive tackler, but will sometimes bounce off without actually doing the job. His bulk isn’t bad, but he is lacking a little bit in height and in terms of arm length. His lack of length also contributes to the missed tackles.
Dean has great upside thanks to his outstanding athleticism. At his best, he is a sideline to sideline LB that can hunt down ball carriers and lock down RB’s in coverage. However, the instincts and mental aspects are still developing. Additionally, his lack of size and length will hurt him at times, with one example being the missed tackles.
| Grade: 85.1 | Round Grade: 1st |
3. Christian Harris (Alabama)
Harris is a leaner, athletic LB. He moves around the field with light feet, and has great bakk skills. Harris has great burst to shoot gaps and close them up qickly. He has sideline to sideline capabilities. Harris shows ability in coverage – both man and zone. He has the quickness and agility to stick with TE’s and RB’s in man coverage, and also the athleticism to excel in zone. The athleticism has proven to be an asset as a blitzer.
Harris is on the leaner, lighter side. As it stands, he lacks the strength to matchup against bigger, stronger opponents. He can have a tough time disengaging from blocks, and has to put in extra effort when in a size/strength mismatch. His instincts are still developing. On tape, there were examples of bad angles and misreads.
Harris is an athletic LB that shows potential in multiple phases of the game. He has sideline to sideline range, and also shows effectiveness as a blitzer thanksto his speed and burst. However, he still has some trouble against bigger, stronger players that can out muscle him. Harris has coverage talent, which adds to his versatility. Ultimately, there is starting potential.
| Grade: 83.0 | Round Grade: 2nd |
4. Damone Clarke (LSU)
Clark is a rangy, athletic linebacker with sideline to sideline ability. He also brings good size and length. At his best, he was flying around the field, making plays both against the run and pass. He has the athleticism to be an asset in coverage. However, instincts are in need of development. He was often late to react in both phases, and that extra split second sometimes caused tackles to just slip away. As well, he is coming off a recent surgery that has his 2022 season in doubt. Clark is a high upside pick, but comes with his share of risks.
| Grade: 82.0 | Round Grade: 2nd |
5. Channing Tindall (Georgia)
Tindall is an athletic LB that brings a good all around game. Very good athlete with sideline to sideline ability. He has shown that he can travel long distances to hunt down the ball carrier. He is effective as a blitzer and is able to quickly get into the backfield. Play recognition could improve, as he does find himself out of position from time to time. Further, he sometimes gets lost in traffic over the middle. It happens when he is defending the run, but also in coverage, which can let his opponent get loose. Tindall has good upside, and his flaws all seem fixable.
| Grade: 81.8 | Round Grade: 2nd |
6. Quay Walker (Georgia)
Walker is a bit of a tweener between edge risher and LB. He was used often as a rusher at Georgia, with some success, but looks a bit lean to be one full time. As more of a stand up guy, he has the speed, height, and length to chase down ball carriers. However, lack of instincts and stiffness in the hips may limit upside. He should be a solid player at the next level, who can be moved around a little bit.
| Grade: 79.7 | Round Grade: 3rd |
7. Chad Muma (Wyoming)
Muma is a strong, athletic player who has a good downhill mindset. He is a sure tackler and has enough athleticism to effectively cover shallow and medium zones. His hips do look a bit stiff at times, and I wonder about his ability in deeper zone, and especially in man coverage. Moreover, his instincts need work. As it stands now, he reacts to what he sees, as he is seeing it, as opposed to anticipating it beforehand to put himself in better position. Muma should eventually start at the next level, but his effectiveness will depend on how much he can grow mentally.
| Grade: 79.2 | Round Grade: 3rd |
8. Aaron Hansford (Texas A&M)
Hunsford is a strong, athletic player with a lot of upside. He has sideline to sideline speed, but also the strength and tackling ability to handle runs to the inside. He shows ability in man and zone coverage, and was matched up one on one against TE’s. The biggest issue with him is play recognition. There are times where he gives up his athletic advantage because he diagnosed the play too slowly, setting himself back a step. The upside is nice if he can get over those issues.
| Grade: 78.8 | Round Grade: 3rd |
9. Brian Asamoah (Oklahoma)
Asamoah is an athletic, rangy LB with pretty good instincts. He brings sideline to sideline ability, but also has the attitude to handle his own closer to the trenches. He has coverage talent, and the agility to blanked in man to man situations. His down hill burst and instincts fit well in zone. Asamoah is quite undersized for a safety. Some may consider him to be a safety/LB tweener. That will bring its limitations from a downhill perspective.
| Grade: 74.9 | Round Grade: 4th |
10. Troy Anderson (Montana State)
Anderson is a player with upside, but is not ready to start. He is a converted RB who currently lacks ideal instincts for the position and finds himself out of position often. That said, he has great size and has a good down hill mentality. Anderson is a pretty good tackler. Athleticism is good for the position. He might be a tad stiff, but that comes with the size. His downhill speed is good, and when he locks his eyes on someone, he can get there in a hurry. He will likely play on special teams early, but could start down the line.
| Grade: 73.1 | Round Grade: 4th |
11. Malcolm Rodriguez (Oklahoma State)
Rodriguez is a tough, instinctive LB. He consistently shows a knack for the football and can pick out the ball carrier on inside runs. His anticipation allows him to get to the outside a bit quicker. Physical traits aren’t up to par with the mental ones. He is an undersized player who also lacks quickness and ideal speed. The mental traits somewhat make up for it when he is defending the run, but that is on a case to case basis. Rodriguez is capable in shallow zone, but could become a liability in coverage if given too big of a role. In the NFL, he has depth/special teams appeal, who maybe could end up starting.
| Grade: 69.8 | Round Grade: 5th |
12. LeoLeo Chenal (Wisconsin)
Chenal is a downhill inside LB. He brings good strength to the table and has the size to back it up. He is a sure tackle, showing time and time again, the ability to wrap up the ball carrier with few missed tackles. Athleticism concerns me. I don’t see sideline to sideline ability, and he isn’t often able to make it outside to help out against perimeter runs. Chenal is stiff lateral, and isn’t someone that I would want in coverage on a regular basis. The strength and toughness gives him mid-late round appeal as an inside run stuffer and special teamer, but the upside is limited.
| Grade: 63.0 | Round Grade: 6th |
Full LB Rankings:
- Devin Lloyd (86.7, Rd 1)
- Nakobe Dean (85.1, Rd 1)
- Christian Harris (83.0, Rd 2)
- Damone Clarke (82.0, Rd 2)
- Channing Tindal (81.8, Rd 2)
- Quay Walker (79.7, Rd 3)
- Chad Muma (79.2, Rd 3)
- Aaron Hansford (78.8, Rd 3)
- Brian Asamoah (74.9, Rd 4)
- Troy Anderson (73.1, Rd 4)
- Malcolm Rodriguez (69.8, Rd 5)
- Leo Chenal (63.0, Rd 6)
Notables Not Graded:
- Nephi Sewell
- Jesse Luketa
- Jojo Domann
- Zakoby McClain
- Mike Rose
- Terrel Bernard
