NFL Draft Update: OLB
By Keith Myers
Outside linebacker is a coveted position for teams that play a 3-4 defense because that’s where their pass rush comes from. For 4-3 defense teams like Seattle, it’s not a priority at all. This makes ranking OLBs on a big board to be more difficult that other positions.
This particular draft class is a little light on the top end, but has great depth in the middle rounds.
There’s plenty of outside linebackers in this year’s draft that Fit what the Seahawks like, but I think we should all pay close attention to Florida State’s Brandon Jenkins. I have him being drafted right about where I expect the Seahawks to be drafting in round 2. He’s a big and fast linebacker who’d be an upgrade of KJ Wright on the strong side, and would allow Wright to move inside to MLB where I think he’ll really excel.
Another player I think fits in will for the Seahawks is Tyler Nielsen from Iowa in the 4th round. He’s a very speedy LB with good pass rush skills who will really do well in the Seahawk’s WILL (weak side) linebacker spot.
| Rank | Player | Pos | PRank |
School
Ht.
Wt.
Zach Brown
OLB
1
North Carolina
6-2
230
Courtney Upshaw
OLB
2
Alabama
6-2
265
Brandon Lindsey
OLB
3
Pittsburgh
6-2
250
Brandon Jenkins
OLB
4
Florida State
6-3
265
Ronnell Lewis
OLB
5
Oklahoma
6-2
244
Jarvis Jones
OLB
6
Georgia
6-2
242
Bruce Irvin
OLB
7
West Virginia
6-2
245
Lavonte David
OLB
8
Nebraska
6-1
225
Travis Lewis
OLB
9
Oklahoma
6-2
228
Sean Spence
OLB
10
Miami
5-11
224
Nigel Bradham
OLB
11
Florida State
6-2
240
Keenan Robinson
OLB
12
Texas
6-3
240
Adrian Robinson
OLB
13
Temple
6-1
250
Tyler Nielsen
OLB
14
Iowa
6-3
235
Tank Carder
OLB
15
TCU
6-2
237
Darius Fleming
OLB
16
Notre Dame
6-2
255
Danny Trevathan
OLB
17
Kentucky
6-0
232
Kyle Wilber
OLB
18
Wake Forest
6-4
240
Tahir Whitehead
OLB
19
Temple
6-1
228
Sammy Brown
OLB
20
Houston
6-2
240
Josh Kaddu
OLB
21
Oregon
6-3
236
Manny Abreu
OLB
22
Rutgers
6-2
260
Jerrell Harris
OLB
23
Alabama
6-2
242
Demario Davis
OLB
24
Arkansas St
6-2
232
Alex Hoffman-Ellis
OLB
25
Washington St
6-1
232