This years linebacker class is an interesting one because there are a lot of varying opinions of of the class and the players. Also there are some “tweener” players that some scouts see as a linebacker and others see as an edge rusher. The class isn’t strong at the top, but there is some good depth and definitely some day 2- early day 3 prospects that could come in and become starters at some point in their careers. Lets get to my top ten.
Top Five Linebackers
- Jihaad Campbell – Alabama: Campbell is a freak athlete who has played some edge rusher on passing downs. He was a five star athlete that took a couple years to get there. He is a beast in the run game and has shown flashes in coverage, although he still needs to improve there. He is obviously already a good blitzer. The sky is the limit for him as they say. He should be able to come in and start at middle linebacker for someone as a rookie and has All-Pro potential.
- Jalon Walker – Georgia: Walker is one of the tweeners I referred to at the beginning of the article. His size, frame and length just say linebacker. He is fast and explosive and showed some improvements as a linebacker in 2024, but still has a ways to go with his instincts and processing. He is a good blitzer obviously, but is really unrefined as a pass rusher. Early on he should come off the bench and see snaps as a occasional 3rd down pass rusher. He also showed some flashes in coverage as well.
- Demetrius Knight Jr – South Carolina: Demetrius Knight is a pretty interesting player. DeAngelo Hall is a cousin of his. He started out as a quarterback at Georgia Tech then transferred to Charlotte where he didn’t play a lot until 2023 when he became a starter. He then of course transferred to South Carolina for his sixth and final college season. He was just a good all around MIKE backer in 2024. He’s shown he can do almost anything and is very athletic for how big he is. Knight has shown off his ball skills with four interceptions in the last two years. He is a physical presence on the field.
- Carson Schwesinger – UCLA: Schwesinger is a player that kind of came out of nowhere this season. He is a former walk-on that redshirted his first year and played mostly special teams the next two seasons. He was named a surprise first year starter in 2024. He showed off his athleticism all season. The former Bruin is almost the opposite of what you would think he is just looking at his background and profile being a former walk-on. His play was inconsistent, but showed flashes in coverage and even as a blitzer. His eyes still need work because there are still times he looks like a chicken with his head cut off, but he’s just so athletic he can make up for it. He likely needs his rookie year as a “redshirt” year where he mostly plays special teams and gets mixed in as the season goes. His upside though is as a pro-bowl caliber player.
- Colin Oliver – Oklahoma State: Oliver is another “tweener” like Jalon Walker. He played some linebacker and edge rusher at times at Oklahoma State. The biggest difference though is size; he is even smaller at just under 6’2 240 with 31 1/8″ arms. He had 21 career sacks, but only played two games this past season and seems to have been forgotten. If you watch his film at linebacker he looks pretty good, he moves well and is a physical willing run defender. If he gets time to develop he can be a pretty solid linebacker that you can blitz on 3rd downs.
The Best Of The Rest: Six Thru Ten
6. Branson Combs – Wake Forest: Combs has been a very underrated player throughout this process. Its likely because he he played at Southern Illinois until 2024 where he obviously transferred to Wake Forest where the team had a bad season. Combs is a former wide receiver that moved to safety in 2021 and was moved to linebacker in 2022. So despite being a 6th year guy he still has a lot of upside. He could play SAM or WILL with his size at 6’3 228, but has the frame to get bigger. Due to his different positional background he moves really well and is very good in coverage. He has seven career interceptions and nine career sacks.
7. Danny Stutsman – Oklahoma: Stutsman has flashed his physical talents every year, but was also on the inconsistent side. Sometimes he would look fast and other times slow. He would make a big play then get beat in coverage or attack the wrong gap. Stutsman has the talent to be the best linebacker in this class, but his processing is slow, so when he guesses right he looks great.
He has 10 career sacks and is a good blitzer because of his physical talents. For him to reach his potential he likely will have to go to a team that keeps things very simple for him and doesn’t ask him to do much thinking. At the least he should be a good special teamer.
8. Barrett Carter – Clemson: Carter was thought to be one of the next big time linebackers to come out of Clemson after his 2022 season where he had five sacks and two interceptions. He returned for 2023 and had a poor injury plagued season. Carter returned hoping to bring his stock back up in 2024, but only played a little better. It seems like the talent that was around him on that 2022 team raised up his play. He hasn’t shown much improvement. Carter is a good athlete that can blitz, but does need to improve a lot in coverage and just lean to play more consistent, improve his eyes.
9. D’Eryk Jackson – Kentucky: Jackson is another player that has kind of dropped off boards this season due to a limited 2024 season where he played in just eight games. He tested really poorly at his pro day with a 1.51 RAS, but if you go back and watch his 2023 film when he was healthy he looks a lot better than his more well known teammate Jamon Dumas-Johnson.
Jackson looks like the 8.99 RAS guy not JDJ. Jackson is an instinctive, physical player that showed off some coverage chops with three interceptions over the last two seasons. His tackling does need to be cleaned up a bit, but he could be the next Ivan Pace. A guy who comes out of no where and starts as a rookie.
10. Chris Paul Jr. – Ole Miss: Chris Paul Jr. could be described as this years Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. An undersized college linebacker that is fast and athletic, but due to his size will have to be used properly to get the most out of his 6’1 222 pound frame. If used the right way he could be an impactful player with his athleticism and instincts. He is even a pretty effective blitzer. You just need to keep him clean and let him attack.
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