Draft Preview: Linebackers
April 9, 2024
by Alex Zeese
Overview
Even with Washington’s additions of Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner at linebacker, I would argue it’s still a position of need since Wagner’s deal is for just one season as he’s looking to wind down a hall-of-fame career. What his presence could give the team is a chance to bring in younger talent in this draft and give them a great role model in front of them for a season.
If you listen to a lot of the draft experts, this draft class doesn’t have any starting talent at linebacker. I would be surprised if we see any linebackers go early in the 1st round. This class, it’s about roles, and guys who could develop into a starter down the road.
| Player | School | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payton Wilson | NC State | 6’4” | 233 lbs |
| Athletically very gifted, and ran a 4.43 in the combine. And maybe the best athlete in the group. He’s going to be a better outside linebacker, lining up outside the defensive end on the line of scrimmage, so he could be an interesting fit in that 4-3 “under” spot that Dan Quinn uses. He has good closing speed. His frame reminds me of Jamin Davis when he was young. While I think he’s going to be better going against the run, he does show some good awareness on pass plays and had 3 interceptions his senior year. Very productive tackler, with 69 solo tackles and 69 assists in 2023 along with 6 sacks. Of this group, he was my favorite to watch. | |||
| Edgerrin Cooper | Texas A&M | 6’3” | 230 |
| Has decent game speed, but what’s impressive is that he has very good awareness and patience when it comes to finding lanes to the running back and quarterback, allowing plays to open up in front of him in a way you would expect from a veteran player. A downhill guy rather than a dropback guy. Will be a good run-stopper and occasional pass rusher. In his senior year, he had 39 solo tackles 45 assists, 17 TFLs, and 8 sacks. I think that his style makes for a natural middle linebacker if a team is looking for a run-stopper at that position rather than a Tampa-2 style linebacker. | |||
| Jeremiah Trotter Jr | Clemson | 6’0 | 228 |
| 54 solo tackles 34 assists 5.5 sacks 2 interceptions last year. A balanced defender overall, and while his play style reminds me a lot of his father; the problem is that the former Redskin and Eagle was 6’1 and close to 260 lbs. That’s a bit of a difference in size, so you have to wonder if the younger son probably is better suited to playing outside rather than in the middle. Speed may be a concern,since he runs closer to a 4.6. | |||
| Jordan Magee | Temple | 6’1 | 228 |
| For a smaller linebacker, he’s very good in the box against the run finding his way to guys through the mess of offensive and defensive linemen. He had 45 tackles 35 solo, 14 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks last year. Ok, I admit it I only put him in because he went to my alma mater. | |||
| Junior Colson | Michigan | 6’2” | 238 |
| If you’re looking for coverage linebackers, he’s the best zone-pass coverage defender I’ve seen so far in this group. Good sideline-to-sideline movement vs the run and screen game seems to be most natural dropping back a few steps into the middle of the field zone coverage. Had 44 tackles his senior year and 51 assists. Not a big-time sack, tackles for a loss-type defender. | |||
| Steele Chambers | Ohio State | 6’1 | 226 |
| This guy is interesting as a project. I’m a sucker for guys who played both sides of the ball, and he was a backup running back for his freshman and sophomore years and had 28 runs for 221 yards in his 1st two seasons at Ohio State a solid 7.9 yards per carry there. Changed to linebacker after that, his senior year he had 41 tackles 42 assists, and a pick. He’s good on RB pass coverage and against the run on the edge. Needs more coaching when it comes to technique. He will probably need a lot of time learning and playing special teams to start. | |||
| Cedric Gray | North Carolina | 6’1 | 234 |
| Weakside player, but probably the most balanced linebacker in terms of playing the run, in pass coverage, and rushing the QB. Had 64 tackles and 57 assists, 11 TFL’s, 5 sacks, and an interception last year. Not a fast guy, as he ran a 4.64, so don’t put him on a wide receiver. Keep him on your TE and RB. | |||
Conclusions
With the team having multiple picks in the 2nd and third rounds I could see them taking at least one linebacker in the top 100 draft picks. Of this group I really like Cedric Gray, Payton Wilson, and Edgerrin Cooper if any of them were picked up by the team I think we would be very happy with them starting in a year or so.
There are not a lot of big linebackers in this group. I realize the league is more about smaller, faster players, but I personally think you still want a few bigger bodies from time to time. In the past, Dan Quinn has kept a 3-4 style OLB as an extra edge rusher on his rosters. A name that could work in that situation is Brennan Jackson out of Washington State who is 6’4, 264.