Overview
Position: Outside Linebacker
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 245 pounds
School: UCLA Bruins
Myles Jack 2016 NFL Draft Profile
This figures to the third consecutive year UCLA has a middle linebacker taken in the NFL draft. Unlike his predecessors, (Anthony Barr in 2014 and Eric Kendricks in 2015), Jack won’t be going to the Minnesota Vikings. With Minnesota picking 23rd, Jack figures to be long gone by the time the Vikings turn comes around. How high he does go of course depends on his knee. Jack played three games in his junior season at UCLA before suffering an anterior meniscus tear in his knee. He underwent surgery and withdrew from school in order to devote all of his time to his rehab and conditioning in advance of the draft. As of this writing he has not been fully cleared by NFL doctors for the every activity at the training combine, but Jack says he is ready to go at any time.
The health of the knee will be the only thing standing between Jack being a top 10 overall pick and dropping to the early teens. His skill set has certainly been well accounted for. After being a 4-star high school recruit out of Bellevue, Washington, he made an immediate impact at UCLA, starting in 12 of 13 games for the Bruins in his freshman season, (11 at linebacker and one at running back). Playing on offense for the first time in 2013, he rushed six times for 120 yards and a touchdown at Arizona. He was the first player in conference history to be named Freshman of the Year on both offense and defense and was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in the country.
UCLA continued to use him on both sides of the ball his sophomore year, though he started all 13 games as an outside linebacker. He was second on the team in tackles, (behind Kendricks) and had at least six in 10 games. On offense, the Bruins used him primarily in goal line situations, utilizing his body strength for three touchdowns on carries. As a senior he moved from outside linebacker to the middle to replace Kendricks and had 15 tackles in three games prior to the knee injury.
Strengths
- Freakishly Athletic
- Can drop into space or cover man to man
- Great instincts; always around the ball
- Strong edge rusher
- Plays with tremendous energy
- Strong defending the run or the pass
Weaknesses
- Needs to learn to shed blocks better
- Relies on his aggressive instincts too much
- Small in size when it comes to covering NFL tight ends
- Doesn’t get into the backfield enough
NFL Comparison: Navorro Bowman, San Francisco
Teams with Need at Position: Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints
Projection: Top 12
Bottom Line:
Someone with Jack’s athletic skills and motor doesn’t come along every day. He is good enough to go to Jacksonville or Baltimore early in the first round, but coming off knee surgery he is likely to drop just a few spots lower, (Chicago at 11 or New Orleans at 12). At the NFL level he will likely move to weakside linebacker, something he excelled at in his first two seasons at UCLA, before moving to the middle out of roster necessity as a junior. That will also minimize his need to learn to shed blocks better and will maximize his ball hawking instincts. He is strong enough to handle running backs catching the ball out of the backfield and he never shies away from a collision. The key at the next level will be to improve his technique and then turn him loose and let his natural football instincts do the rest. He is a steal if he drops below the #10 spot in the draft.
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