The draft prospect series rolls on with Outside Linebacker. This draft class has a few first round potential players and several athletic OLBs.
Myles Jack: UCLA
Jack is a potential top 5 or top 10 pick despite his knee injury from 2015. Jack is 6’1 and 245 pounds and could play outside or inside linebacker. Jack is very athletic with great speed in coverage. The former Bruin has good pad level and good instincts with pursuit. Jack must work on his routes to the football and is a little smaller frame. He suffered an ACL tear in September but is fully recovered to play this upcoming season.
Darron Lee: Ohio State
Lee is 6’1 and 232 pounds and should play weakside linebacker in the NFL. Lee ran a 4.47 40 and had a great vertical, broad jump and short shuttle at the combine. Lee is good at determining the play and is very athletic. Lee can play well in space and should be able to handle tight ends and running backs in coverage. Lee is small and has balance issues and missed some tackles at Ohio State. He should be a first round LB though with his athleticism and coverage abilities.
Leonard Floyd: Georgia
Floyd is 6’6 and 244 pounds. He ran 4.6 at the combine with good vertical and broad jumps. He has good size and athleticism and can shed blocks well. Floyd could be an edge rusher on the blitz and takes good angles to the QB. Floyd should bulk up some but must win more at the point of attack. Floyd must work on his tackling and keep his pads lower. Floyd is a late Round 1 or Round 2 pick.
Su’a Cravens: USC
Cravens is a safety and LB hybrid from USC. He has good instincts and can shed blocks. He is very strong in coverage but should bulk up if he moves to LB full time. He is adequate blitzing but is more of a coverage LB/in the box safety. Cravens is small for a LB and not as fast as expected. He must work on his tackling at the next level. Cravens should be a Round 2 or Round 3 pick.
Other OLB prospects
Kamalei Correa (Boise State), Jordan Jenkins (Georgia), Kyle Frackell (Utah State, Tyler Matakevich (Temple) and Deion Jones (LSU) are other day 2 options at OLB.
The OLB class has some talent and three first round potential prospects. Jack and Lee have the highest ceilings and should be stud LBs at the next level. Their coverage skills are needed by many NFL teams.