Indianapolis Colts: 2016 7-round NFL mock draft
By John Buhler
Mississippi State’s Beniquez Brown may not have the highest of ceilings as a professional after leaving Starkville a year early, but in three years with the Bulldogs he did show that he can do one thing very, very well: wrap up tacklers.
Brown had 100 tackles and four sacks as a redshirt junior playing for Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2015. Brown had to replace the elite production of Bernardrick McKinney, a 2015 NFL second-round draft pick.
He loves bringing down tacklers that run down hill. Playing in the SEC West that has talented tailbacks like Alabama’s 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, LSU’s Leonard Fournette, and the tripled-headed monster that Bret Bielema had at Arkansas in 2015 adequately prepares Brown for what it will take to play in the NFL.
Carving out a role on special teams is probably what is going to keep Brown in the league the first few years as he learns the Colts’ defense. He doesn’t have the best athleticism, so being at the right place at the right time is crucial in Brown’s effectiveness as a run-stopping inside linebacker.
Given that inside linebacker isn’t as fruitful of a position entering the NFL Draft as it once was, the Colts are going to have to take their chances on someone like Mississippi State’s Brown with their fifth round selection at No. 155 to hopefully rectify their run stopping woes from 2015.
Next: 239. Jonathan Williams, Running Back, Arkansas