Top 10 linebackers in the 2019 NFL Draft

Just missed the cut

T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin

This former high-school quarterback (who doesn’t look a thing like it anymore) has turned himself into an outstanding all-around linebacker, who produced at a high level for four years in different roles. Edwards combined for 366 total tackles, with more than every tenth of them going for a loss. He has also added eight sacks, ten picks and 15 pass deflections.

While he was already named a freshman All-American and honorable mention for the All-Big Ten team as a sophomore, Edwards stepped up as the leader and communicator for the Badgers defense once Jack Cichy got hurt before the 2017 season even really started and he has been making plays constantly these last two seasons, while earning All-conference recognition.

Edwards has the looks of a wild bear, but he is an assignment-based football player. At over 240 pounds he is a thumper inside against the run with an extremely powerful upper body that makes him one of the few linebackers in today’s space-oriented game that can still take on blockers with heavy hands and disengage when the ball-carrier is around. He has no problem smacking a pulling guard in the face either.

Edwards stays disciplined on the back-side of running plays and rarely gets caught peeking in the backfield. When the offense runs a power or ISO play against him he can shoot through one half of the blocker and still make the tackle at times. The long-time contributor makes it almost impossible to get away from once he puts hands on the ball-carrier and he has strong arms to hold on to tackles from behind.

While Edwards certainly lacks elite change-of-direction quickness, he makes up for it with getting himself into position before the play happens. He has a special talent to read the eyes of the quarterback while feeling what is happening around him in terms of receivers entering his area and he always seems to find himself around the football, while making impact plays in coverage with surprising ball-skills when he gets his hands on it.

At his size, Edwards is a dangerous blitzer in-between the tackles as well as looping around the edge. He blows up running backs in protection and can grab cloth to pull offensive linemen off himself after engaging contact. He is also very aware of when the running back is part of the protection schemes and there’s a lane to through as well as coming upfield to shut down scrambling quarterbacks. On 45 pass rush snaps, Edwards recorded 17 QB pressures last season.

The old-school linebacker simply doesn’t have any splashy athleticism that intrigues scouts. Edwards is a step late on the edges when he flows with the play and has to open up his hips laterally. His chase speed leaves something to be desired and when he is a split-second late he has to go back to making tackles at the sideline instead of in the backfield. That lack of twitchy explosiveness also makes him a target in man-coverage at the next level. He might be restricted to the role of a two-down run-plugger at the next level.

Even though Edwards might not jump off the tape due to the way he moves, the reason he also shows up around the ball is the fact that he understands what he’s doing. He will be a high-quality backup inside linebacker for any team at the very least, but some athletic limitations might cost him a starting spot. If you can find a way to work around those, he is a plug-and-play guy.

Bobby Okereke, Stanford

Even before arriving at Stanford, Okereke received major honors as he won the prestigious Watkins award for the nation’s top African-American high school player in terms of academic and athletic excellence. During his collegiate career, his numbers improved every year, starting his final 38 games and recording a total of 221 tackles, 20 of them for loss, 10.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, while being named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention these last two. Okereke steps up and delivers the pop in the run game.

Against zone schemes, he does a good job flowing with the play from the backside and only opening his hips when it is time to flatten down the line to make the tackle. He has quick hands and pretty long arms to elude the initial blocker, especially when blitzing on run-downs and he doesn’t mind running right into a lead-blocker in the backfield to mess up the play.

When he is the target on power runs, he meets the pulling guard in the offensive backfield. Okereke will also go underneath of a puller and either make the play or force the runner to find a cutback lane. I think he has excellent reactionary quickness and pursuit. The smart backer has good awareness for play-action and stays alert from crossers.

He was asked to cover backs and tight ends in man coverage and made it look easy to run with them on seam or crossing routes. He was also lined up over number three receivers in trips sets and has no problem getting off blocks by those smaller guys in space. In zone, Okereke displays active feet, excellent range and he covers a lot of ground quickly when he sees the quarterback scramble.

The three-year starter is a capable blitzer due to quickness and short-area burst to get offensive linemen to turn their bodies quickly, but also power when he builds up some momentum. Against Notre Dame in 2018 Oreke came up on a blitz near the goal-line and he smacked the running back so bad that I felt it from home. That’s what he does – he hits people in the mouth.

Okereke deflected five passes last year but had only one career INT. He was left standing on a few angle routes by quicker running backs. Although most of his sack production came due to effort, Okereke deflected five passes last year, but only one career INT, was left standing on a few angle routes by quicker running backs.

He has the burst to shoot through gaps and can make blockers miss in space, but once those big guys get in his frame he struggles to get off them. He is also doesn’t really find the ball in the air once turns his back to the quarterback, overshoots some targets as a tackler and slips off them. Okereke would be best in a role where he can around freely on base downs and then play in space in the passing game.

Ben Burr-Kirven, Washington

This young man already put up solid numbers his first three years, but exploded in 2018 as an absolute tackling-machine, recording 176 total tackles. He also forced four fumble fumbles and recovered another three. Burr-Kirven was just all over the field and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors as well as first-team All-American recognition. The Washington coaches asked him to do a multitude of things.

Burr-Kirven is a menace in the run game, but he can also blitz and tackle guys in space on passing downs. The Huskies used a five-man front in some games and basically had him cleaning up anything going past that initial line. He uses a good stop-and-go ratio when defending the run and has very unique ways to avoid blocks, like side-stepping through two offensive linemen to shut down a screen pass or nod one way and then go underneath an offensive lineman to get involved. Sometimes I feel like he kind of is like a running back pressing the gap and then cutting back where the space opens up behind that.

While being that strong in the run game, Burr-Kirven had an excellent 2018 season in coverage as well, recording two interceptions, six pass-breakups and allowing just 7.4 yards per completion. He tracks the eyes of the quarterback and once he sees that guy get ready to release the ball he tries to meet the receiver at the spot. He doesn’t mind turning his head and running with a crosser when he feels it either.

The four-year contributor for the Huskies does a nice job sitting on top of hook and stick routes and breaking them up. Once Burr-Kirven sees the quarterback can’t really find anybody around him while rolling out, the linebacker shoots upfield to take him away as a runner as well. It’s like he is shot out of a cannon when he blitzes and he will try to go right through a guard or center, although I would like to see him have a more of a plan and any type of pass-rush move when doing so.

It’s undeniable that Burr-Kirven is undersized with short arms. Neither does he have the strength nor the length to take on blockers and keep vision on the ball-carrier. His steps are very choppy and he can also be guided away from the running back when he tries to shoot the gap for once. Several of his tackles come on clean-up work a few yards downfield or in an assisted matter. He is surprisingly sudden when he transitions from dropping into his zone and then coming uphill, he is tough to put hands on in space and he is a scrappy competitor.

I thought draft analysts would kill Burr-Kirven for a lock of athleticism, but he had a really encouraging combine, running 4.56 in the 40, while putting up top three linebacker numbers in the 3-cone and short shuttle drill. I still see a somewhat limited athlete, but he can play.

Cameron Smith, USC

Smith started building his reputation as a fourth-grader going up against guys from eight grade. After earning High School All-American honors, he became an impact player ever since he first suited up for the USC program, earning Freshman All-American honors and Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in ten games until he tore knee ligaments. Yet he was the heartbeat of the Trojans defense ever since, leading his team in tackles in each of the next three years.

Smith wins with his ability to read and react quickly. He trusts his eyes and goes out with a purpose, shooting gaps and creating a bunch of negative plays, as he recorded 25.5 tackles for loss over the last three years. The four-year starter shows great pursuit. He will squeeze through gaps, change angles, run around people and through them just so he arrives at the guy with the ball eventually. He doesn’t get fooled easily, because he reads his keys and has excellent instincts.

Smith gets into this ferocious zone, in which his eyes start getting bigger and he can intimidate opponents and has the mindset of – if there’s a loose ball it’s his and nobody else’s. While Smith isn’t the most dynamic player in space, he gets the job done with football IQ and feel. He was asked to cover backs and tight ends in man and even followed them out wide. In zone he keeps his eyes glued on the quarterback and puts himself in position to make plays on the ball, leading to ten pass breakups in the last three years.

On some plays you see Smith turn his back and trail somebody down the seams and a second later, he comes downhill and makes the tackle for minimum gain on the scrambling quarterback. He is an outstanding open-field tackler, who drives his legs through contact and has a strong grip to not let opponents get away. Smith completely took over the Utah game, collecting 16 tackles and a pick. He shows pressure quite a bit and drops out of it and when he comes from distance he can side-step running backs as a blitzer.

The overall athleticism with this guy is not what excites scouts. His top-end speed leaves things to be desired and he doesn’t have the closing burst to finish some plays. Smith has a pretty good punch to take on blockers, but he isn’t sudden enough to disengage when the ball-carrier is running past them. He also displays some tightness in his hips, limiting his ability to change directions.

He simply lacks the elite athletic traits you see from most NFL players, but Smith is one of those guys who makes up for that with heart and instincts. He is a very intelligent player who will probably earn playing time over some better athletes, who don’t understand the game like him and aren’t as invested in the mental aspect of it.