Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts share who they have as the 10 Linebackers In The 2025 NFL Draft. They discuss top names like Alabama's Jihaad Campbell, South Carolina's Demetrius Knight, Ole Miss' Chris Paul Jr, Georgia's Smael Mondon, and more.
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00:00Jahad Campbell might be the first linebacker selected in this class,
00:03but there's another player who's equally as talented. Stay tuned to find out who that is.
00:11Good luck to any team who needs to draft a linebacker this year because the options are
00:16frankly terrible. We've got three tiers as we always do for our linebacker rankings.
00:21Tier three for this position group is rotational players or below average starters,
00:26so already not off to a good start. Tier two is quality starters, and then tier one is plus
00:31starters, guys that could go on to become pro bowlers or important players just for a team's
00:36success in the future. For tier three of rotational players and below average starters, we've got
00:42number 10, Jamon Dumas-Johnson of Kentucky. Number nine, Kobe King of Penn State. Number eight,
00:48Jeffrey Bassa of Oregon. Number seven, Barrett Carter of Clemson. And then number six,
00:54Danny Stutzman from Oklahoma. I defer to you, the linebacker man himself to talk about any of these
01:01just wonderful young men that you would love to highlight. I mean, the first one is Kobe King
01:08for me, Joe. If you could make the NFL today that you only allowed to run inside the tackles and that
01:16was it, right? So you just need linebackers that stack and shed, can really contact at the point of
01:21attack, can get off of blocks and have good overall vision. Kobe King is your guy, man. The problem is
01:28that you're going to get pushed into space at some point, right? You're going to be pushed into
01:32coverage. You're going to be conflicted in those types of areas. And I just don't think he's going
01:36to project favorably as a in-pass coverage on obvious past situations. Like that's just not
01:42going to be Kobe King's game. But if you needed him early down, a guy that could stop the run,
01:46a guy that is consistent between the tackles, I do think there's some value to Kobe. It's just,
01:51he's a little bit a limited player to say the least. You and I were all over the place in terms
01:56of agreement on linebackers. Like there were some pretty wide margins, like a difference of five
02:01rankings for our linebacker lists. The only guy that we were exactly the same on was Kobe King,
02:08who we both had ranked as our 10th linebacker, which was good enough for him to bump up the nine
02:13based on that average ranking. And I do like that descriptor for him, that he's just really,
02:18really dynamite between the tackles. Maybe he's a two down linebacker in the NFL. Hence why he is a
02:23rotational player that isn't going to be a full-time starter. You weren't as high on Jeffrey Bassa from
02:29Oregon. I really liked him. And I think that his role for me in the NFL is as a pass coverage
02:34linebacker. I thought that he was really fluid and moved pretty well in space. Just doesn't have that
02:38requisite strength that we look for, for a guy that's going to be playing in the box.
02:43And he began his career as a safety. So it's not a surprise that he's just generally speaking,
02:48a good athlete that has really good movement skills. You just know how I am, Joe. Like I'm,
02:51I'm a pretty big purist with linebackers. Like I need guys that have clean vision, can attack
02:56downhill, can be guys that can be assets in the run game. And I just, I just don't think Bassa is ever
03:01going to be that. Like, I think he is a dimebacker on the next level and a guy that could play a role
03:05for a team. It can definitely make a roster without a doubt. I just don't necessarily see
03:09an upside pick, which is, you know, just kind of why he's a little bit lower on my list, I guess.
03:14But there's a couple of those guys on this list that are overall just kind of like, they're very
03:17one notes, just one track type of players. And I think Bassa kind of fits that description pretty
03:23well. I'll let you provide a little bit of shine for Barrett Carter, who I was disappointed. I was
03:28hoping that he was going to look a lot better on film. He had a little bit of a regression from where he
03:34was two seasons ago, where you actually, I remember back when we were doing our rankings
03:39on a completely different channel, you had him as a possible late first rounder going into the 2022
03:45college football season. I think it was, but there wasn't, yeah, there wasn't that translation and
03:51that improvement of his impact in the box. I didn't love his instincts. I didn't love his play
03:56strength. He's still a pretty good athlete. You had him as your linebacker six. He ends up at seven
04:02for us. What did you think of Barrett Carter from Clemson?
04:05I think he's still explosive. I think he's still a really good athlete. I think he plays
04:09well in space. And I, I think that he has, he plays with a reckless abandon. Like he's an
04:13aggressive player. I just think that his vision is just not taking the steps that I thought it
04:17could the last couple of years. I do wonder, Joe, I don't know if you agree with this,
04:21but I've often wondered what would Barrett Carter be right now? If Brett Venables never took the
04:27Oklahoma job, if he was the defensive coordinator. Cause honestly, I feel like a lot of the defensive
04:30players last year or so have had regression. Like they have, they haven't quite taken the massive
04:36steps forward. And I think if the part of it is the defensive system is not what it was,
04:41but also I think just the player development on a day-to-day perspective is not what it was
04:45under coach Venables just in general. So I'm still hopeful for Barrett Carter. He is much more now
04:49borderline late day to early day three type of football player, in my opinion, in a bucket.
04:55And I think that there's still developmental upside, but yes, he's, he has not taken quite
05:00the step that you wanted him to as a potential top 50 player that it looked like he could be a
05:04couple of years ago. Moving on to tier two guys that are the most likely to go somewhere on day
05:08two. Uh, maybe some of those tier three guys could sneak in, but we have a number five smile
05:13Mundin from Georgia. Number four, Carson Sueshinger from UCLA. And the number three, Chris Paul from
05:19Ole Miss, Chris Paul Jr. from Ole Miss. I want to just quickly highlight smile Mundin because he was
05:26outside of your top five, but he firmly landed on my list as my fifth linebacker. I was just really
05:33impressed by how powerful and explosive that he can be in areas. I thought that he was pretty
05:39aggressive when attacking blockers and he wasn't afraid to get into the nitty gritty and to get dirty.
05:44The only thing that big negative for him is availability. He was banged up for a period of
05:50time this year. He wasn't on the field. He was also rotating in a little bit because he wasn't
05:54in the mix as consistently. So that lack of availability props in a question on what Mundin
06:00is going to do in the NFL, if he's going to be able to withstand and play a full season. But
06:05I thought that Mundin could end up being, if he bulks up and continues to add some more weight to his
06:10frame, end up being a really good Mike linebacker in the NFL.
06:12I think he has upside for sure. I think he's a really good athlete, obviously, and he moves
06:18well. I think he's one of the better coverage linebackers too. I just, Joe, he's a guesser,
06:22right? Like he's a guesser. He doesn't always stay clear. I mean, he, he, he is going to,
06:27he's going to sacrifice some gap integrity at times to try to make a play. And I respect it
06:32ultimately, but that's also a way of to not start on the NFL level because of that over aggressiveness
06:37at times. I will say this too, a little bit note for the 2026 class, potentially couldn't stop
06:43watching CJ Allen when I was watching smile Mundin. So we got, we got a dude in CJ Allen
06:48for next year, for sure. Linebacker.
06:50Carson Swessinger also is one of those guys that is a complete guesser. He is an insanely good
06:55athlete. He flies all over the field. It's kind of like watching a golden retriever, hence the hair.
07:00He's got the long blonde hair. It's like watching a golden retriever chase a squirrel
07:04when he just runs all over the place to go after the football. Now he over pursues. He will end up
07:09in the wrong place, the wrong time, which ends up leading to some pretty big gains picked up by
07:14opposing rushing attacks. But Swessinger, if you're looking for an athlete that maybe early on doesn't
07:19start at linebacker for you, that you just say, Hey man, Carson, just go run down and smack somebody
07:24on kickoff. And then as you start to get him more reps and more improvement, and he starts to
07:29hopefully improve those instincts that he could start for you inside a linebacker.
07:35It's hilarious that he was a, he was a walk on originally, because he is the complete opposite
07:40of what I would have view as a walk on. I would think like a try hard kid who isn't a really good
07:44athlete. And it's like the complete opposite. He is a great athlete. And the process of playing
07:49the linebacker position is still kind of developing a little bit, but I mean, this kid will run and
07:53he'll hit ultimately. Right. So he's got upside to him. Didn't want to shout out Chris Paul real
07:57quick. Chris Paul Jr. Who I understand he's an outlier. I get it. He's got shorter arms.
08:03He's not the biggest linebacker in the world, but he can also run. And I think he is maybe
08:07the most instinctive linebacker in this class. Like I think that he is in the right spot
08:11all the time. And despite him having shorter arms and not a huge wingspan, doesn't miss
08:16many tackles either. Like he really doesn't. Right. So I think he's a starter on the next
08:21level. Eventually. I think he's a, he could potentially be a plus starter if he develops
08:24properly. I understand he's an outlier, but he is an outlier that I am buying into for
08:29sure. Yeah. He he's your prototypical will backer. And I think that in the modern NFL
08:34where size is less coveted and it's more of a focus on speed, how, how much ground can
08:40you cover? How easily can you fly around the field? I think that Chris Paul being a little
08:45bit more compact allows him to slip blockers. It allows him to wade through the traffic behind
08:50to Mike backer in order to make plays, uh, tracking down on the backside. So I think
08:54that he is exactly what the NFL is looking for. He's somebody who I believe is probably
08:58going to go somewhere in the third round in that range. Moving on to our last year
09:03behind that we have here. You said the nickname Poo Paul, babe. Chris Poo Paul. I'd love to
09:07know the reasoning behind why he goes by Poo Paul tier one plus starter. Jihad Campbell
09:13is at number one of Alabama. Demetrius Knight is at number two of South Carolina. You're
09:20a Demetrius Knight truther. So I will let you speak on him, but I really liked Demetrius
09:25Knight. I would take him anywhere in the second round. I would even take him early in the second
09:30round, but he might drop a little because of some other positions of need that have a
09:34lot more scarcity of other positions that are more important than drafting linebackers.
09:38But man, this dude is explosive. He is downhill. He will attack. He will go after people. I love
09:46the mentality and the traits that can turn him into a dynamite starting middle linebacker in the
09:53league. And a quick note before I get into Demetrius Knight. Some people are going to say
09:57out there right now, Joe, they'll be like, Hey, doofuses, where's Jalen Walker? We did not
10:01rank Jalen Walker as a linebacker. So yes, just a quick note there. Don't yell at us in the,
10:06in the comments about Jalen Walker linebacker. We ranked him in the edge. He's not a linebacker.
10:11He's not a linebacker. He might be a linebacker, but I didn't rank him as one. So there's that
10:15Demetrius Knight, one of the most fascinating backstories of all time. And I'll wrap it through
10:20it a little bit. Georgia tech quarterback, Charlotte linebacker transfer portal was dynamic
10:26at South Carolina in his loan season in 2024. He's a bigger body linebacker. He can run. I mean,
10:33he was, he was verified in the season, about 248 pounds. He cut weight to run fast, but he's a
10:38four, five, six, four, five, seven type of athlete. He can run for days. He kind of takes you off guard
10:43because he looks like a modern, like a old school Mike linebacker that's just going to come down and
10:46kill you. But then he has range to work to the perimeter. And I think that he is some of the best
10:51processing and he's got a lot of pop in his pads as well. So he's a true Mike on the NFL level.
10:56His, I think his, he's related to D'Angelo Hall, the former Atlanta Falcons cornerback. He's also
11:02related to Gladys Knight, who was a R and B singer back in the day for Motown. So very fascinating
11:08backstory. I think this kid's going to go in the top 50, Joe. I disagree with you. I think this is
11:12going to be a top 50 pick when all is said and done. Demetrius Knight starting Mike linebacker in
11:17the NFL for a very long time. Well, I said early second round. So I'm, I think it's, it's real,
11:24but I'm saying he could fall because everybody's going to prioritize offensive line and other
11:29positions. Number one though, Jahad Campbell. Um, I have been obsessed with Jahad Campbell since
11:33I laid eyes on him. He was one of the first prospects that I watched in this process. And
11:38I've been geeked up by how quickly this guy picks up speed and how he uses that speed as a weapon. He
11:45loves to hit people. He will blast any ball carrier block or anybody that gets in his way. And he has
11:50the weight to throw around to be impactful with that speed. I think that he does need to improve
11:55his instincts a little bit. Like a lot of these linebackers, especially in the modern version of
11:59college football. But if he fully rounds out, he could be a fantastic player for a team and not
12:05only just a good starting linebacker, but eventually a true defensive weapon being a former edge recruit
12:12that could end up brushing the passer in certain situations.
12:16And even with his injury stuff, that is kind of popped up. I still think that
12:21Jahad Campbell is going to be a top 20 pick when the draft officially kicks off. I still think
12:25he's going to go very, very high. He looks the part. Like, I think I comped him to Keith Bullock
12:29when we did our, our scouting report show. He's long, he's explosive. He moves exceptionally well.
12:35He's really good in coverage. All those attributes are there. I think that you're right. I think
12:39the processing is still coming along. The other thing, Joe, that I would say is like the negative,
12:43I think he needs to learn how to take on blocks a little bit better and just kind of stack and
12:47get off of blocks more consistently. But this kid, if it hits, this is a pro bowler perennially
12:53as a linebacker in the NFL level, he could play Mike or he could play Will with the, with the pro
12:57profile that he has. And he has a ton of upside that still has yet to be tapped into.
13:02Folks, let us know in the comments, who did we miss? What do you think of our rankings?
13:05Hit that like button and subscribe. We'll talk to you later.