2021 Draft Board: Linebackers

Go check out my 2021 Quarterback Draft Board article if you want to get more background information on how this all works.

A little over a month ago I wrote an article about the prospects they missed when putting together who they would have invited to this year’s Combine (link). Antjuan Simmons made it into my article, but is removed from the list here due to a poor pro day performance that led to him being removed from my draft board.

TOP FIVE

1) Jamin Davis (Kentucky)

Analysis: When it comes to off the ball Linebackers you want guys who have the athleticism to be able to hang with the freaky athletes at Tight End. Jamin Davis has that athleticism (4.48 forty, 42” vert, 132” broad jump), he has the size (6’3”, 234 pounds) and he has the college production to make it worth it. I was pretty surprised that he came out on top of my draft board, but now that I see the potential he has, I’m not arguing the results.

2) Baron Browning (Ohio State)

Analysis: Browning’s college production hurt his PSR overall, but I’m going to ignore that for my top five rankings, because Browning played in a STACKED Linebacking corps at Ohio State. They have FOUR Linebackers in this draft. Granted two were removed from my board due to their athletic tests, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Browning wasn’t able to get big time stat production because he wasn’t getting full-time minutes. His athletic tests though, those were through the roof. He ran a 4.56 forty and a 6.78 3-cone drill, but it was his 40” Vertical and 130” Broad Jump that made him really stand out, especially with that 6’3”, 245 pound body.

3) Zaven Collins (Tulsa)

Analysis: He’s big (6’5”, 259 pounds), he’s versatile and he had fantastic ball production while at Tulsa, especially in his final season where he managed four interceptions, two forced fumbles and 2 defensive touchdowns. For his size and speed (4.66 forty) you’d think he’d be an edge rusher in a 3-4 (and he certainly could be), but given his nose for the football and coverage abilities he can also play off the ball. Gotta love his versatility even if he ended up with a 3rd-5th round grade based on his PSR.

4) Buddy Johnson (Texas A&M)

Analysis: By the PSR standards Buddy Johnson is the only other player (besides Jamin Davis) to receive a first round grade, but he ends up at four on my list because he doesn’t carry the same builds as the three guys above him (he’s only 6’ and 229 pounds). Still, Johnson played well for A&M and had a stellar pro day performance (4.58 forty, 38.5” vert, 128” broad, 4.07 short shuttle). That short shuttle is especially impressive since it’s the fastest reported time out of the 22 Linebackers I’m tracking that ran it at their pro days this season.

5) Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Notre Dame)

Analysis: He’s one of those Safety/Linebacker hybrid types, which is why I would have liked to see better numbers in his jumps (36.5” vertical, 124” Broad), especially since he measured in at 6'1”, 221 pounds. Still, he had a ridiculous 24.5 tackles for loss total in 25 games, and his short shuttle (4.15) and 3-cone (6.81) were spectacular. The talent is definitely there, I’d want him to bulk up just a little if I was drafting him though.

Sleeper: Ernest Jones (South Carolina)

Analysis: He earned a higher PSR than Owusu-Koramoah and Collins, and a lot of that goes to his 38.5” vertical and 126” broad jump. He didn’t make my top five because I don’t see his ceiling being as high as the previous two mentioned. I think he maxes out as a solid starter, who can get the job done, those other two have the ability to be superstars. Even with that feeling, a solid starter is better than what you often get in this league.

SURPRISINGLY LEFT OFF

Micah Parsons is the big surprise, but I’ve already covered my reasoning for that in my Hype Mock Draft article. In case you missed it there, Parsons has character red flags. I refuse to shift a player down on my actual draft board for character issues because that is not the point of the PSR or the round range that accompanies it, but I will remove a player from my board or drop a player down it when it comes to my Acting GM Mock Draft, and the top five that I list in these articles. Parsons is a part of a lawsuit against a few players who attended Penn State, they were accused of hazing other players. There was also a different rumor going around that Parsons is a diva in the locker room. Personally, that’s not something I would want on my team, that’s why he doesn’t make my top five and also why you probably won’t see him in the first round of my acting GM mock.

DRAFT BOARD
* = Player has a factor that has led to a 100% success rate (so far)

My Draft Board

REMOVED FROM DRAFT BOARD

For each position there are players who either had a red flag in their college production or athletic testing (or both) that led to them being removed from my draft board. These are referred to as negative factors and can lead to one of two labels: Depleted or Empty. In order for a player to receive a Depleted label, they had to have a negative factor that significantly decreased the chances of success in players who had that same factor from 2009-2018. In order for a player to receive an Empty label, they had to have a negative factor that led to zero successful players who had that same factor from 2009-2018. There were six Linebackers removed from my draft Board:

Anthony Hines (Texas A&M) - Depleted

Isaiah McDuffie (Boston College) - Depleted

Justin Hilliard (Ohio State) - Depleted

Tony Fields II (West Virginia) - Depleted

Paddy Fisher (Northwestern) - Empty

Tuf Borland (Ohio State) - Empty