Overview
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 234 pounds
School: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Te’Von Coney 2019 NFL Draft Profile
Year in and year out, south Florida is a veritable treasure trove of top-level high school talent. Consequently, top programs all over the country have a recruiting presence in the area. In 2015, Te’Von Coney fit the mold with Rivals ranking him the sixth-best inside linebacker in the nation. It led to him receiving 28 scholarship offers including one, not surprisingly, from Miami. But the Palm Beach Gardens native liked what he saw when he took a visit to Notre Dame in September of 2014 and committed to Brian Kelly‘s 2015 class the following month.
Coney played in eight games as a true freshman but contributed mostly on special teams. The following summer, he and four teammates were arrested in Fulton County, GA for marijuana possession and he later received a year of probation. But he wanted to prove that he learned from his mistake because he solidified himself as a major presence in the Irish’s linebacking corps for the next three seasons.
As a sophomore, Coney started nine of Notre Dame’s 12 games and registered 62 tackles which were third-most among linebackers. He then proceeded to put up superb tackling production during his final two seasons in South Bend, both of which ended with the Irish winning 10+ games. His play in 2017 epitomized the year-over-year improvement in the ND defense as they improved by 20 spots among FBS in eight key statistical categories. His 116 tackles on the year led the team and were the most by an Irish player since Manti Te’o in 2011. He built upon that success as a senior, adding a team-leading 123 tackles while also contributing four sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, and an interception.
Strengths
- a well-built, muscular frame that should hold up to the physicality of his position;
- fluid mover with solid initial burst and reactive athleticism;
- solid stack and shed move to disengage blocker and attack ball carrier;
- exceptionally instinctual as a run defender;
- stays fixated on target in pursuit and finishes tackles effectively;
- hits his run fits very efficiently;
- finished his college career with two seasons of hugely impressive production.
Weaknesses
- the “undersized” label will indelibly follow him around;
- lateral twitch is a bit ordinary;
- tends to overpursue to the outside which leaves him susceptible to cutbacks;
- long speed doesn’t jump out on film;
- not the rangiest from the standpoint of covering sideline to sideline;
- a bit static when linemen climb up to him in the second level;
- could be limited as a coverage linebacker.
NFL Comparison: Josey Jewell
Teams With Need at Position: Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins
Projection: Third to fourth round
Bottom Line
Coney certainly has the characteristics of a physical freak when you look at him. He boasts a sleek, chiseled build and should be able to add even more muscle mass without it inhibiting his athleticism on the field. That said, teams might have concerns about his height/weight profile because right now, he’d be one of the smaller MIKE linebackers in the league. But he more than makes up for those deficiencies with a tenacity and persistence that enables him to relentlessly pursue and reliably wrap up ball-carriers. Though his coverage issues might inhibit his every-down value, the potential is there for him to become a reliable starter on running downs at the next level.
