Prototypical Patriots: Hard-hitting LBs to target in later rounds

Prototypical Patriots: Hard-hitting LBs to target in later rounds originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Times have changed.

What was once available to the Patriots at the linebacker position every year is no longer. At least, what was once available — bulky 250-pound (or heavier) players entering the NFL Draft — is no longer available in bulk.

“It’s a different game than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago and that player has also changed,” Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh said two years ago. “There’s not as many of those big linebackers. They just — they don’t exist. Colleges want them smaller because they’ve got to be able to adapt to the college game.

“You can’t just create these guys out of thin air and so — it’s with all the positions — it’s what the college game provides us. We have to just take what they are going to give us from year to year.”

While finding players like new inside linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower (265 pounds when drafted), Jamie Collins (250) and Ja’Whaun Bentley (255) are harder to come by, that’s the body type the Patriots still prefer when it comes to the inside linebacker position.

Bentley and Jahlani Tavai (255 pounds) were the two most frequently used linebackers on the roster in 2023 — 984 and 838 snaps, respectively — and both fell in the top five in snaps played for Patriots defenders last season.

Size still matters. But for those who don’t have it all when it comes to their frame, football IQ, tackling, explosiveness, effort, an affinity for contact and leadership traits all can help.

For this edition of the Prototypes list, we’re looking for players who weighed 235 pounds at minimum prior to the draft. And they have to have an old-school approach when it comes to the physicality they’ve exhibited, meaning they won’t hesitate to take on guards and relentlessly pursue downhill in a scheme that asks their off-ball linebackers to be throwbacks.

Here’s the list…

Junior Colson, Michigan (6-foot-2, 238 pounds)

Colson is…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/prototypical-patriots-hard-hitting-lbs-133500890.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-04-15 13:35:00

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