Favorite Linebackers In 09 Draft

This year some of the most interesting players in the draft were the front seven guys on defense. Defensive linemen and linebackers are very interesting to me. The most intriguing players this year for me are the middle round linebackers. All the USC linebackers and all those "conversion guys" they talk abut didn't interest me as much as the old school linebackers that got taken between the third and fifth rounds. First is a talented outside linebacker Jason Williams from Western Illinois. This kid looks the part and is a very athletic outside linebacker that is fast, a great leaper, and led the NCAA in forced fumbles. His only weaknesses are shedding blocks quickly and his instincts aren't as honed as you'd like them to be. Next is Tyrone McKenzie This is a pretty average kid good speed, agility, instincts and tackling. His best strength is tackling he breaks down well in space and rarely misses a tackle. His overwhelming weakness is his lack of pass covering skills in man to man and zone schemes. One guy I think will be interesting is Gerald McRath this kid is fast, fluid in space, good tackler, with okay instincts and has freakishly long arms. His only weakness is his small size. He struggles with elite size. His small size that brings up the question of injuries. What happens when he gets blind-sided by Hines Ward or some three hundred and thirty pound tackle comes around the end on a toss and puts him on his back. Last ,but certainly not least is Scott McKillop a player that I mentioned as my favorite pick of the fifth round. He is an average player that made Pittsburgh U's team because of his athleticism. The two strengths he has is that one he has the best instincts of any late round draft pick I've ever seen and the other one is that he has no real weaknesses. He also led the NCAA in tackles his last year at Pitt. So with all these linebackers being very interesting and all needing some sort of development I think this year will be a very interesting year for linebackers.