Top-10 players outside of the Power Five conferences
By Robert Judin
6. Tyler Matakevich – LB, Temple
The intriguing factor about Tyler Matakevich is how he projects to the pros. In today’s NFL game, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a franchise middle linebacker — or a reliable inside linebacker in general.
The days of Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas are far behind us. Even Patrick Willis shocked the world and retired rather prematurely, so now that number of elite inside linebackers has gone down again.
Matakevich reminds me of Thomas in a couple ways. He’s 6-foot-1, 232 lbs, and Thomas was 5-foot-11, 230 lbs. So, they both kind kind of fit the undersized role. But the patience and awareness Matakevich displays when diagnosing run plays is also reminiscent of the former Miami Dolphins linebacker.
He’s been a four-year starter at Temple and has brought down more ball carriers than the Cleveland Browns have gone through quarterbacks — cheap shot, I know. He had more than 100 total tackles in his first three seasons, and that’s including his NCAA-leading 106 solo tackles during his sophomore year, which ended with 137 total tackles.
His ability to stop the run is exactly why he can be a second-day steal in the 2016 NFL Draft. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Matakevich combined for 22 tackles for loss. Just as Thomas was a steal in the fifth round for the Dolphins, Matakevich can be that same type of diamond in the rough. He won’t get the recognition to be mentioned as a possible second-round guy, but I can see a team snatching him up in the late-third or early-fourth range.
We hear plenty of head coaches stressing the importance of tackling, and we see plenty of instances where ball carriers break free because of the ever-popular arm tackling. Matakevich would help defenses with that.
He’s not a hand-in-the-dirt guy, which has become a trend. But that’s why he’s so important. There aren’t many like him.
Next: No. 5 Matt Johnson