2024 NFL Draft: LB Rankings
1
LB, Payton Wilson
School: North Carolina State
Ht/Wt: 6’4”, 233 lbs
Strengths:
- Athleticism.
- Hard hitter.
- Can play downhill and make tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage.
- Has sideline to sideline speed.
- Can track the ball carrier horizontally.
- Good in both man and zone coverage.
- Has had snaps outside and in the slot.
- Can blitz.
Weaknesses:
- Frame is a tad lean.
- Strength could improve for play in the trenches.
- Lean frame leads to broken tackles and extra yards after contact.
- Injury history.
Summary:
Wilson is a LB that is built for today’s game. He is a tremendous athlete. Can play man or zone coverage, and has had coverage snaps all over the field, including in the slot and on the outside. His instincts are good and he can make plays between the tackles, or track the ball carrier on outside runs. His issue is that his frame is a bit light, which allows runners the opportunity to slip through tackles. His medical history is also a concern, but overall, Wilson has enough going for him that he should be a 3 down LB, if he can stay healthy.
| Grade: 86.1 | Round Grade: 1st |
2
LB, Junior Colson
School: Michigan
Ht/Wt: 6’2”, 238 lbs
Strengths:
- Great athleticism and good size.
- Lined up against RB in coverage out wide and was tight.
- Sideline to sideline speed, and can run downhill to meet the ball carrier.
- Agile in zone coverage.
- Good blitzer with burst to close in quickly.
- Can tackle in the trenches.
Weaknesses:
- Instincts are not good.
- Consistently is caught taking the wrong lane, allowing an opening for the ball carrier.
- Could stand to take better angles on runs to the outside.
Summary:
Colson has the making of a 3 down LB in the NFL. He has good size and athleticism to go with it. Can do it all in coverage, as well as play the run down low near the trenches and to the outside. His main issue is the mental part of his game. Bad reads a littered all over his tape, and leads to more yards given up than there should be. The talent is there, but it will take some coaching to make sure he is playing at his best.
| Grade: 81.6 | Round Grade: 2nd |
3
LB, Trevin Wallace
School: Kentucky
Ht/Wt: 6’1”, 237 lbs
Strengths:
- Talented player.
- Great athleticism. Good speed, outstanding change of direction skills.
- Can easily move laterally.
- Wallace has sideline to sideline range, and delivers a hard hit when he tracks down the ball carrier.
- Talent to play in coverage. Has the speed and quickness to play man, and has the lateral agility and burst to excel in zone.
- Dense enough frame to stuff inside runs.
Weaknesses:
- Instincts and awareness are lacking.
- Gets fooled by play action and other fakes. Jet sweeps etc.
- Sometimes picks the wrong path to the ball and will get stuck in traffic.
- Can sometimes rush in without thought.
Summary:
Wallace is a talented player. He has the toughness and athleticism to thrive if he puts it all together. He has ability in coverage and lower down closer to the trenches. Can play the inside run or track it outside. However, he lacks patience in his game. He’ll rush in and take the wrong path, or he’ll bite on route fakes, get fooled by play action or jet sweeps etc. Mentally, he needs development, but the talent is there to be a good starter.
| Grade: 78.3 | Round Grade: 3rd |
4
LB, Edgerrin Cooper
School: Texas A&M
Ht/Wt: 6’2”, 230 lbs
Strengths:
- Good athlete, both laterally and downhill.
- Has the physical tools to play in zone or man coverage.
- Speed to go sideline to sideline.
- Good size, and take on contact and throw heavy hits.
- Gets off of blocks quite well when in pursuit of the ball carrier.
- Effective on the blitz.
Weaknesses:
- Mental part of his game needs a lot of improvement.
- Has trouble anticipating and diagnosing.
- Reacts to things after they happen, which puts him a step behind.
- Has lapses in zone coverage from time to time.
- Will sometimes overrun his target when coming back towards the line of scrimmage.
Summary:
Edgerrin has the potential to be a good player and a starter in the NFL. He has the speed and lateral movement skills to play in coverage and make sideline to sideline plays. He also has a big enough frame to handle rougher work in the trenches. However, his instincts, both in coverage and on the ground, are not where they need to be. He takes a lot of bad angles and is frequently slow to process and diagnose. Time will be needed before he is ready to start, but the potential is there if he can get the mental stuff down.
| Grade: 78.2 | Round Grade: 3rd |
5
LB, Jordan Magee
School: Temple
Ht/Wt: 6’1”, 228 lbs
Strengths:
- Magee has a ton of speed.
- Very nimble and light on his feet. Changes directions effortlessly.
- Having quick feet gives him an advantage when tracking down shifty RB’s.
- Smooth backpedal in coverage. Has the talent for man and zone coverage.
- Good closing speed to make a tackle if a pass is caught in front of him.
- Magee is a good blitzer. Hits the hole quickly and engulf the QB.
Weaknesses:
- Can be slow to diagnose, which sometimes negates his athletic advantage.
- Needs to see it before he reacts.
- He is a tough player, but maybe a tad undersized.
- Can give up yards after contact.
- Would benefit from adding more strength.
Summary:
Magee is an athletic LB with true sideline to sideline ability. He flies out there, and seemingly can track people down, regardless of his starting point. The talent is there in coverage. He does well in both man and zone. However, overall instincts and reaction ability need to get better. He reacts to what he sees, rather than anticipating, and can arrive too late to where he needed to be. Filling out and adding some strength would help him cut down on being dragged for yards after contact, and also cut down on missed tackles. Could see him contributing on special teams right away, and getting eased into a defensive role. Should be a starter eventually.
| Grade: 76.1 | Round Grade: 3rd |
6
LB, Cedric Gray
School: North Carolina
Ht/Wt: 6’2”, 234 lbs
Strengths:
- Gray has a good combination of size and speed.
- Smooth in his backpedal and can move laterally in zone coverage.
- Ability to cover RB’s 1 on 1.
- Seed to track down outside runs, but also has the size to make a stop at the line of scrimmage.
- Decent blitzer. Didn’t always get through, but seems to have ability.
Weaknesses:
- Instincts don’t always match his athleticism when he is looking to make plays.
- Ability to read and diagnose running plays is spotty.
- In coverage, route fakes will induce hesitation on his end, and allow the RB to get open.
- Had more missed tackles than I would have liked to see.
Summary:
Gray has the size and athletic abilities to become a quality starter in the NFL. He shows flashes in coverage, and can be really good against both the outside and inside run, when at his best. However, his instincts are still developing. He takes the wrong path too often when defending the run. As well, the lapses in coverage are not good. The missed tackles aren’t either, but that is a different issue. Gray will need some seasoning, but he has future starting ability.
| Grade: 74.9 | Round Grade: 4th |
7
LB, Curtis Jacobs
School: Penn State
Ht/Wt: 6’1”, 241 lbs
Strengths:
- Jacobs has a well built, sturdy frame.
- Can handle the rigors that come with playing in the trenches.
- Can stuff inside runs and not let tackles slip out.
- Is able to handle shallow zone and man coverage into the flats.
- Decent blitzer.
- Plays a tough brand of football.
Weaknesses:
- Passable athleticism, but far from high end.
- Wouldn’t trust him in deeper zone or man coverage very often.
- More so a mover that is meant to stay close to home base.
- Poor instincts, sometimes runs himself right into traffic with an unclear end goal.
Summary:
Jacobs has a small, but dense frame that is built to handle tough duties of an inside run stuffer. He isn’t a “stuck in the mud” kind of athlete, but athleticism isn’t his strong suit. I’d trust him in shallower coverage, but deeper stuff can be risky. He will need to improve the mental side of his game. He takes bad angles and runs into traffic more than I would have liked. Overall, he projects as a depth LB. Good enough between the tackles to see some rotational snaps, and good enough in other areas to beat out back-end roster guys. But not good enough that I’d want him starting. Depth LB with spot start potential.
| Grade: 68.7 | Round Grade: 5th |
8
LB, Jeremiah Trotter
School: Clemson
Ht/Wt: 6’0”, 228 lbs
Strengths:
- Good instincts.
- Reads the play well, takes the right angles, and hit the right lanes.
- On the shorter side, but his frame is sturdy and well built.
- Plays tough and is a hard hitter.
- Has had some success as a blitzer.
Weaknesses:
- Athleticism is not up to par for today’s game.
- Average to below average speed, looks like he is stuck in mud at times.
- Poor change of direction, which impacts his ability to tackle in the open field.
- Not really an option to be used in man or zone coverage.
Summary:
Trotter is an old school LB. He is a hard hitter and very instinctive. He plays the inside run well and, if he diagnoses it early enough, can track down runs to the outside. However, he is very limited athletically. Runners can juke him out, as he doesn’t have the change of direction skills to adjust. I don’t see him contributing in coverage at the next level. Looks like a situational player who comes on in obvious running situations or near the goal line
| Grade: 60.6 | Round Grade: 6th |
LB Rankings:
- Payton Wilson (86.1, Rd 1)
- Junior Colson (81.6, Rd 2)
- Trevin Wallace (78.3, Rd 3)
- Edgerrin Cooper (78.2, Rd 3)
- Jordan Magee (76.1, Rd 3)
- Cedric Gray (74.9, Rd 4)
- Curtis Jacobs (65.7, Rd 5)
- Jeremiah Trotter (60.6, Rd 6)
Notables Not Graded:
- Ty’Ron Hopper
- Tommy Eichenberg
- Edefaun Ulofoshio
- Marist Liufau
- Aaron Casey
- Darius Muasau
See Also: OT Rankings