The 2020 NFL Draft is not known for its talent or depth at the linebacker position, but there are still impact players to be found at the position.
The 2020 NFL Draft is known for its depth at quarterback, wide receiver, and on the offensive line. This year’s class of linebackers is not necessarily great in terms of top-end talent or volume, but it’s not poor either.
In today’s league, the traditional thumper at the linebacker position that is built like a tank with a neck roll and lots of eye-black is bordering on extinct along with the traditional fullback.
For us ’90s kids, it’s crazy to see such a different type of player emerging as the prototype at the linebacker position when we grew up with guys like the late, great Junior Seau, Brian Urlacher, Zach Thomas, and Ray Lewis.
The modern NFL linebacker has to be able to play all three down. They have to be able to cover, be effective at blitzing, and they have to be able to stick their nose in the mud and play the run.
It’s not easy to find guys who can do all of those things, which is why this position is being somewhat undervalued and guys who can do those things are being over-drafted a bit (see: Devin Bush, 2019).
Which players can do all (or most) of those things in the 2020 class? Which players are going to be “instant impact” players at the next level? Let’s take a look.
Isaiah Simmons, Clemson
If you want to draw up the prototype for what the NFL currently covets at the linebacker position, you might not be able to come up with someone better than Isaiah Simmons.
Simmons’ skills put on paper read more like a pipe dream for a linebacker prospect than an actual player, but he’s got it all.
Simmons played pretty much everywhere in Clemson’s defense and not only was he lined up in almost every position — he played them well.
There are not many guys in college football who have lined up as an edge rusher, off-ball linebacker, deep safety, box safety, nickel corner, outside corner, defensive line, and anything else you can think of.
It’s not that Simmons is a talented athlete with no true position. It’s that Clemson knew he could match up with pretty much anyone. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney once said he thought that Simmons would be an All-Conference player on the defensive line, at linebacker, or at safety if they would have him focus on one spot.
For NFL teams, the options are endless for Simmons. He’s a weapon no matter where you put him on the field and in my mind, he’s the most likely to have an instant impact at the next level.
His size, speed, football IQ, and versatility are extremely rare. If your team is not picking in the top 10, maybe don’t bank on Simmons being available.
Patrick Queen, LSU
Maybe no one elevated their stock in the 2020 National Championship game than LSU linebacker Patrick Queen.
Before the 6-foot-1, 227-pound junior officially declared himself eligible for the draft, most people felt like Queen could be a second or third-round guy depending on how high or low your team was picking, but those hopes of him falling to day two have diminished and perhaps even disappeared completely.
Queen finished this past season at LSU with 85 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, an interception, and a lot of really impressive tape.
I'm writing up my report on LSU LB Patrick Queen and it reads like a love letter.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) January 21, 2020
All eyes were on Devin White for LSU last year, and he ended up being a top 10 pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I don’t know White is at that level as a prospect, but he’s instinctive, he plays fast, and what’s the most important factor for NFL teams?
He can cover.
Queen’s ability to stick with backs and tight ends in man coverage is a coveted trait that should land him somewhere in the top 32 picks, and right now he’s ascending the more people watch of him after the National Championship game.
Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
One of the best defensive players in the country over the past three years, Kenneth Murray has filled up the stat sheet and put together a first-round resume.
- 325 career tackles
- 36.5 tackles for loss
- 9.5 sacks
At 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds, Murray is closer to the ideal size many teams are looking for at the linebacker position nowadays, and he certainly has the ability to play around the line of scrimmage and disrupt plays behind it. It’s his specialty.
Murray knifes through the line of scrimmage with ease and his 36.5 career tackles for loss are evidence that a lot of times, there’s really nothing opposing offensive linemen can do about it.
Playing somewhat out of position at Oklahoma based on his strengths, we’ll see Murray continue to ascend as potentially a better all-around player in the NFL than he was in college when he’s not forced to be the middle linebacker.
He struggles a bit with decision-making but has obviously masked a lot of that with athleticism, superior physical skills, and overall range.
As Murray becomes even more of a film junky at the next level and gets into a 3-4 defense where he’s not on an island on the second level, he’s going to be an absolute stud.
Jordyn Brooks, Texas Tech
It seems like it should be impossible that two linebackers from the Big 12 — a conference known way more for putting up a ton of points than preventing them — would be on this list, yet here we are.
Jordyn Brooks took over a bigger role in the Red Raiders’ defense this year despite already having three productive seasons, and he somehow exceeded what anyone could have imagined.
Brooks racked up 108 total tackles this past season with a whopping 20 tackles for loss — a number more commonly seen in defensive linemen — and three sacks.
Among those on this list, Brooks has the look and play style of a more traditional linebacker at a rocked-up 6-foot-1, 245 pounds.
His level of productivity — 360 career tackles — is impossible to achieve without a high level of instincts at the position. 360 tackles over the course of 46 games is an indicator of being around the football constantly, and that’s what we see from Brooks.
This guy works in the middle with a fearlessness that will not only endear him to defensive coordinators but will also help him make an instant impact at the next level.
All three of his sacks came in one game this past season, so that’s an area that can be developed as well as his coverage abilities.
If this guy goes unblocked in the running game, he’s going to diagnose and blow the play up, and he’s going to do it regardless if it’s going right up the gut or if you’re trying to stretch it to the outside.
Zack Baun, Wisconsin
This might be cheating a bit as many consider Baun to be more of an “EDGE” player and not necessarily a linebacker, but I’m going to push a new narrative.
I think Baun could be utilized in the NFL similar to the way a player like Kyle Van Noy has been used by the New England Patriots.
It’s no coincidence that Baun, a guy who primarily lined up as a rusher in college, was given a number of off-ball reps at Senior Bowl practices as an inside linebacker, and what a coincidence that he was working with the Detroit Lions who are coached by former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Whether or not Baun is a first-round pick, he’s a ‘good at everything’ type of linebacker in the NFL. He is the quintessential Patriots type of guy, though I don’t think his NFL team fit should be limited to the Patriots or their tree of coaches.
Any team needing help at the linebacker position on all three downs should have interest in Baun, as he has shown in his time at Wisconsin that he has range, he can obviously rush the passer, he’s a good enough athlete, and he can cover.
As a matter of fact, some of Baun’s best plays came when he was lined up basically in a nickel cornerback position.
Obviously Chase Young missed a couple of games this year, but he and Baun tied with 47 QB pressures apiece in 2019. That’s outstanding production as a rusher.
Baun isn’t the same type of prospect as Isaiah Simmons in terms of positional versatility, but he’s going to be able to play at a high level all over the formation in the front seven.