Devin Lloyd NFL Draft Overview
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6′-3″
Weight: 237 pounds
School: Utah
Devin Lloyd 2022 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the entirety of his collegiate career at Utah, linebacker Devin Lloyd has officially declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. Lloyd is coming off an elite season, recording a combined 111 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks, and four interceptions.
Lloyd originally joined the college football world as a three-star recruit. Originally playing as a safety, Lloyd added muscle and officially earned a starting job at linebacker in 2019. During his full season of game action, Lloyd recorded 91 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 sacks, and one interception. Lloyd only played five games in 2020 but still finished the year with 48 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, and two sacks.
Strengths
- Versatile player that can play multiple linebacker roles at a high level;
- Above-average coverage ability with room to grow;
- Studies the quarterbacks eyes and is rarely caught out of position in zone;
- Fantastic lateral movement lets him chase down running backs going east-west and north-south;
- Hard-nosed, physical player that is equally talented as slipping and overpowering blockers;
- Dangerous blitzer when called upon.
Weaknesses
- Misses too many tackles due to poor fundamentals;
- Doesn’t always take the best angles to the ball carrier;
- Good, but not great, measurables;
- Conditioning could improve – sometimes tires at the end of games;
- Takes a little too long to recognize blocking patterns.
NFL Comparison: Lavonte David
Teams With Need at Position: Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles
Projection: Round 1
Bottom Line on Devin Lloyd
Devin Lloyd is probably the most well-rounded linebacker in this entire class. It’s hard to find anything that he’s actively bad at, as the Utah product simply is capable of doing just about everything at an above-average level. Every team loves versatility, and Lloyd can play any linebacker spot in a defense. He’s already one of the better coverage linebackers in the class, and he has room to grow there.
While some coverage linebackers fall in the pseudo-safety category and aren’t stout against the run, Lloyd has no problem with charging headfirst into the line and getting after the ball carrier. The Utah product can slip blockers with ease and overpower weaker linemen to collapse the pocket on blitzes and shut down run plays before they have a chance to develop. On top of that, he’s more than just a north-south player, as he has the agility and speed to go east-west and chase down ball carriers on outside runs.
The only real flaw in Lloyd’s game is his tackling. The Utah product is always in the right position, but he misses tackles a little too often for a guy with his type of talent. The rest of his weaknesses are objectively nitpicks – there really aren’t too many flaws to Lloyd’s game. Linebackers aren’t as important as they used to be in the game of football, but Lloyd is one of the safest players in the draft with one of the highest ceilings. Players of his caliber are few and far between, so don’t be surprised if he comes off the board as a top-15 pick.
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