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Looking for linebackers? Well, look no further
By BILL ORDINE, The Baltimore Sun
Published: Thursday, Apr. 27, 2006
For NFL teams in the market for linebackers, this is their lucky year.
The largest group of promising linebackers in six years will be available – with Ohio State’s A.J. Hawk a potential top-five pick – when the league’s two-day draft begins Saturday.
A linebacker hasn’t been taken as high as Hawk is projected to go since the 2000 draft when LaVar Arrington, recently signed by the New York Giants, was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders.
“It’s a deep draft for linebackers, especially at the top end,” said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock. “Certainly, A.J. Hawk is the poster boy and you’re probably not going to make a mistake with him no matter where you pick him.”
In that 2000 draft class, after Arrington was taken, Chicago selected Brian Urlacher (No. 9) and San Francisco chose Julian Peterson (No. 16), who was signed in the offseason by Seattle. Two more linebackers were grabbed in the bottom of that first round, Rob Morris (Indianapolis) and Keith Bulluck (Tennessee).
This year’s linebacker crop is likely to produce a similar number of early picks.
“I think four to six linebackers could go in the first round,” Mayock said, “and if you consider Kamerion Wimbley and Manny Lawson in that linebacker category, it could be as many as six to eight.”
Wimbley, of Florida State, and Lawson, of North Carolina State, are similar players – tall and fast but relatively light college defensive ends who project as hybrid edge defenders in 3-4 defensive alignments.Other first-round linebacker candidates are Iowa’s Chad Greenway, Florida State’s Ernie Sims, Hawk’s Buckeyes teammate Bobby Carpenter and Maryland’s D’Qwell Jackson, regarded as the best true middle linebacker available.
But Hawk is the blue-chipper. At 6 feet 1, 247 pounds and with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash, he has both the “measurables” that NFL teams look for as well as a long resume of production at Ohio State, having led his team in tackles for three straight years.
“He’s the safest bet in the draft,” Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta said of Hawk. “His mentality, the way he projects on and off the field, his work ethic. He’s a no-brainer.”
A few draft projections have Hawk being picked as high as No. 2 and most have him no lower than sixth or seventh.
“It’s a position where a lot of times (NFL teams) say they don’t want to draft people too high because they think, ‘How much impact can a linebacker have?’ “ Hawk said at the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February. “(But) guys like Shawne Merriman (of San Diego) and Lofa Tatupu (of Seattle) had huge years (in 2005). I think the linebacker position, with all the defenses they’re playing and with the offenses you have to face – one week you’re facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you – you have to be able to do a little bit of everything.”
After Hawk, the field of linebackers gets jumbled as to what order they’ll go. The hybrids, Lawson and Wimbley, are intriguing because of their size and speed, which means they can be used in several ways.
The Ravens’ DeCosta says Sims “plays the game with a hunter’s style he can run and chase guys.” The short (5-11, 232) but speedy (4.5 in the 40) Sims has a reputation for throwing his body around but that has also resulted in concussions.
Maryland’s Jackson was a producer in college, just as Hawk was. The 6-foot, 229-pounder had 447 total tackles for the Terrapins.
“He may not have the physical skills of Hawk and he’s a little undersized, but he brings production and the intangibles,” DeCosta said of Jackson.
At the combine, Jackson conceded that his size creates challenges but insisted that he has become a better player as a result.
“I’m not the 6-2, 250-pound ‘backer, so I have to focus on the details that most players take for granted,” he said. “When I step on the field, I have to be prepared to know what plays come out of what formations. That separates you a little bit.”
Greenway (6-3, 243) is an outside linebacker, and while his workouts were inconsistent, he plays faster than his stopwatch speed and has shown he can cover wide receivers coming out of the slot.
Some believe that Carpenter has the versatility to play inside or outside, standing up or hand down. The son of former NFL running back Rob Carpenter, the 6-3, 255-pound linebacker had eight sacks as a senior before breaking his fibula in the regular-season finale.
By BILL ORDINE, The Baltimore Sun
Published: Thursday, Apr. 27, 2006
For NFL teams in the market for linebackers, this is their lucky year.
The largest group of promising linebackers in six years will be available – with Ohio State’s A.J. Hawk a potential top-five pick – when the league’s two-day draft begins Saturday.
A linebacker hasn’t been taken as high as Hawk is projected to go since the 2000 draft when LaVar Arrington, recently signed by the New York Giants, was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders.
“It’s a deep draft for linebackers, especially at the top end,” said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock. “Certainly, A.J. Hawk is the poster boy and you’re probably not going to make a mistake with him no matter where you pick him.”
In that 2000 draft class, after Arrington was taken, Chicago selected Brian Urlacher (No. 9) and San Francisco chose Julian Peterson (No. 16), who was signed in the offseason by Seattle. Two more linebackers were grabbed in the bottom of that first round, Rob Morris (Indianapolis) and Keith Bulluck (Tennessee).
This year’s linebacker crop is likely to produce a similar number of early picks.
“I think four to six linebackers could go in the first round,” Mayock said, “and if you consider Kamerion Wimbley and Manny Lawson in that linebacker category, it could be as many as six to eight.”
Wimbley, of Florida State, and Lawson, of North Carolina State, are similar players – tall and fast but relatively light college defensive ends who project as hybrid edge defenders in 3-4 defensive alignments.Other first-round linebacker candidates are Iowa’s Chad Greenway, Florida State’s Ernie Sims, Hawk’s Buckeyes teammate Bobby Carpenter and Maryland’s D’Qwell Jackson, regarded as the best true middle linebacker available.
But Hawk is the blue-chipper. At 6 feet 1, 247 pounds and with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash, he has both the “measurables” that NFL teams look for as well as a long resume of production at Ohio State, having led his team in tackles for three straight years.
“He’s the safest bet in the draft,” Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta said of Hawk. “His mentality, the way he projects on and off the field, his work ethic. He’s a no-brainer.”
A few draft projections have Hawk being picked as high as No. 2 and most have him no lower than sixth or seventh.
“It’s a position where a lot of times (NFL teams) say they don’t want to draft people too high because they think, ‘How much impact can a linebacker have?’ “ Hawk said at the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February. “(But) guys like Shawne Merriman (of San Diego) and Lofa Tatupu (of Seattle) had huge years (in 2005). I think the linebacker position, with all the defenses they’re playing and with the offenses you have to face – one week you’re facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you – you have to be able to do a little bit of everything.”
After Hawk, the field of linebackers gets jumbled as to what order they’ll go. The hybrids, Lawson and Wimbley, are intriguing because of their size and speed, which means they can be used in several ways.
The Ravens’ DeCosta says Sims “plays the game with a hunter’s style he can run and chase guys.” The short (5-11, 232) but speedy (4.5 in the 40) Sims has a reputation for throwing his body around but that has also resulted in concussions.
Maryland’s Jackson was a producer in college, just as Hawk was. The 6-foot, 229-pounder had 447 total tackles for the Terrapins.
“He may not have the physical skills of Hawk and he’s a little undersized, but he brings production and the intangibles,” DeCosta said of Jackson.
At the combine, Jackson conceded that his size creates challenges but insisted that he has become a better player as a result.
“I’m not the 6-2, 250-pound ‘backer, so I have to focus on the details that most players take for granted,” he said. “When I step on the field, I have to be prepared to know what plays come out of what formations. That separates you a little bit.”
Greenway (6-3, 243) is an outside linebacker, and while his workouts were inconsistent, he plays faster than his stopwatch speed and has shown he can cover wide receivers coming out of the slot.
Some believe that Carpenter has the versatility to play inside or outside, standing up or hand down. The son of former NFL running back Rob Carpenter, the 6-3, 255-pound linebacker had eight sacks as a senior before breaking his fibula in the regular-season finale.