Top 10 linebackers in the 2021 NFL Draft:

#4 NFL Draft Prospect: Jabril Cox (LSU)

(6’ 3”, 235 pounds; RS SR)

Jabril Cox

Once outside the top 3000 as a two-star recruit, Jabril Cox was an impact as soon as he stepped onto the field for North Dakota State. After a redshirt year, he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year and then the first-team all-conference as well as second-team FCS All-American the next two years.

During his career with the Bison, Cox not only won three FCS national titles, but he also amassed 258 tackles, 32 of them for loss and 14 sacks, to go with six INTs and two defensive scores.

He transferred to Baton Rouge in 2020, wherein ten games, he recorded 58 total tackles, 6.5 of them for loss, three PBUs and three INTs, including a pick-six in the season-opener against Mississippi State.

Jabril Cox isn’t just fast for a linebacker. He can chase down fast receivers in the SEC to legitimize what he showed against FCS competition before. He has the range to make plays all over the field.

Cox is tough to put a hand on in the box, as he can shoot gaps with sudden movements combined with the dip and rip like a pass-rusher almost. He consistently beats pulling linemen to the spot, and he has the speed to scrape over the top of the blocking and chase guys out of bounds coming over from the backside.

When he is lined up in the slot, teams can forget about stalk-blocking him. He has collected several TFLs in his career, as he can go underneath a receiver, shoot into the backfield and bend his path back laterally to trip up ball carriers.

However, when he is put outside the box and reads inside runs, Cox stays patient in not letting the ball get around the edge while having the burst to make tackles before the second level is cleared. He can defend both guys on speed options at times, as he has a quick change of direction to play in between them and still be able to wrap up once they commit.

Cox has no issues picking up slot receivers on shallow crossers and running with them stride for stride. He is also fluid in flipping his hips and run with guys down the seams. His ability to carry receivers vertically is highly impressive, whether it’s turning with guys in match zone or manning up against the number three in trips.

He does an excellent job finding targets in space and adjusting his drops in zone accordingly while having a good balance in toggling his eyes between the quarterback and his receivers. He could soon be elite in man-coverage on backs and tight-ends.

Cox had that highly impressive pick-six against Mississippi State last season, where he opened with the number three in a trips set and got beat across his face. But he was back in the hip-pocket a split second later and took it away. He has the ability to work over the top of picks and quickly erase RAC opportunities by closing the space.

However, he can also be very dangerous as a blitzer. At NDSU, he lined up over slot receivers and then rush the QB from there, arriving there in a heartbeat. Go back to the Northern Iowa game in 2019, where he put a couple of huge hits on quarterback: he timed up the snap perfectly and came through unblocked. Something else that is pretty impressive about Cox is that he wasn’t flagged once all of last season.

In general, Cox uses his length and quickness well to avoid contact with blockers, but when he’s just lined up in the stack and has those big bodies get into his frame, he has problems disengaging and playing through contact. Therefore you see him get caught in the trash on a few occasions.

In coverage, as he can aggressively jump crossers, Cox might get punished on pivot or whip routes. As a blitzer, when he is actually accounted for, he gets pretty hung up with contact and still needs to show more of a plan in defeating blockers.

While I do think there is a big three at the linebacker position, where all of them could easily go in the first round, there're five to seven more names that could all be impact starters early on.

However, Cox is my favorite among the bunch because of well he projects as a run-and-chase defender, his ability to elude blockers in space and how well he projects as a coverage piece. He is a modern-day linebacker who can get a TFL shooting the backside B-gap one snap and then cover a big slot the very next.