Linebacker LB
Tackle + PBU production combined with speed + agility. The most consensus-driven of the front-seven positions.
Likeliest career, by the outcome model.
How many linebackers land in each career bucket as the model's single most likely finish. This is a different question from the board grades below — a prospect can be a Day 3 grade and still have “starter” as his likeliest outcome. The tails (elite, bust) are where the model separates; the middle two buckets sit close to a coin flip.
The board.
All 20 linebackers with a draftable grade on Draftanomics's 2021 board, tier by tier.
Only Micah Parsons carries a blue-chip grade at linebacker — the Penn St. product projects No. 6 overall. The break below is soft: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah projects just 7 projected picks after Parsons, so the tier line is a label more than a wall.
Two names carry a first-round grade — Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in front at No. 13, Zaven Collins close behind at No. 29. The drop to Jamin Davis is 15 projected picks: a step, not a cliff.
Jamin Davis leads a 8-deep Day 2 group — the meat of the LB board — starting at a projected No. 44 overall. The drop behind Werner is the story — Baron Browning does not come off the board for another 23 picks. Inside the tier, the model's fight is Chazz Surratt: it says No. 72, the room says No. 115.
This is where the class lives: 9 linebackers carry a Day 3 grade, with Baron Browning out of Ohio St. at the front of the line at No. 124 overall. One split worth knowing: consensus puts Monty Rice at No. 111, 40 spots above our call.