Denver Post draft expert Jeff Legwold provides his list of the top linebackers available in the NFL’s April 26-28 draft.
1. Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College, 6-2½, 242 pounds. A top-10 player who is the total package. Plays with great anticipation, finishes tackles and is a top-tier athlete.
2. Courtney Upshaw, OLB/DE, Alabama, 6-1½, 272. His best fit likely is in a 3-4 defense. Alabama coach Nick Saban has told teams he thinks Upshaw can be an outside linebacker and defensive end, but teams have to look at the game video because he has not fared as well as others in workouts.
3. Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama, 6-2, 265. A smart player who can do a lot of things, including play inside or on the edge in some rush situations. Alabama also used him as a nickel linebacker. Suffered ACL, MCL tears in 2010.
4. Shea McClellin, OLB/DE, Boise State, 6-3, 260. He likely moves to defensive end in a 4-3, but is an athletic, driven player who lined up at outside linebacker, defensive end and inside linebacker at Boise State.
5. Keenan Robinson, LB, Texas, 6-3, 242. Big drop-off at the position after Hightower and McClellin, but Robinson started 39 games in his career and had 106 tackles last season, including a team-leading 10 en route to earning defensive MVP honors in a Holiday Bowl victory over California.
OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
Zach Brown, North Carolina; Lavonte David, Nebraska; Bobby Wagner, Utah State; Ronnell Lewis, Oklahoma; Bruce Irvin, West Virginia; Sean Spence, Miami; Cam Johnson, Virginia (also DE).
BIGGEST QUESTION MARK
Zach Brown, North Carolina. As the years go by, there is some feeling among the league’s scouts that this story gets played out season after season with North Carolina players. UNC has high-end athletes who carry questions about effort or on-field discipline into the draft. Brown has the size, speed and athleticism the NFL loves to see in its linebackers. But in the game video, he simply doesn’t show the anticipation to make impact plays, especially behind the line of scrimmage. Perhaps he can be taught to do so, as he already possesses the foundation of speed few people his size have as the starting point.
SLEEPER
Brian Hendricks, Wyoming. He’s not a sleeper in these parts, but Hendricks has shown more than enough on the field and in his predraft workouts to warrant a training camp invite. Hendricks, who went 102-1 as a prep wrestler at Burlington High with state titles to close out his junior and senior seasons, had a quality pro day, running a 4.61 40-yard dash at 231 pounds. He led the team in tackles this past season with 105.
LOCALS
Scouts say CU’s Josh Hartigan turned in a fairly good pro-day effort last month in Boulder, showing some quickness in position drills. Hartigan suffered a stinger last season that affected his output and kept him off the field at times.
BRONCOS NEEDS
D.J. Williams, despite his lawsuit to challenge the league, is still facing the prospect of a six-game suspension to open the season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. The Broncos did re-sign Joe Mays and Wesley Woodyard as well as use two draft picks on the position last season, choosing Nate Irving and Mike Mohamed, but they’ll give a long look at the position again this time around. They will likely add one more fleet-footed linebacker.
