JACKSONVILLE – A longtime draft story at linebacker continues.
It’s a position that largely has been redefined and devalued in the NFL Draft in recent seasons. As is the case at positions such as running back and tight end, that means it takes a special prospect to be selected early.
All of which makes 2024 a fairly typical draft for the position.
“It’s not a great off-the-ball linebacker draft,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.
That’s the consensus of many draft analysts this year, and it’s something of a trend at a position that remains important on the field but that tends not to be highly-value during the draft.
“I go back and forth on that,” NFL Media/Jaguars analyst Bucky Brooks said of the position’s importance. “On the one hand, people say it’s not a premium position. But is there a good defense that doesn’t have good linebackers?
“You can say it’s not, but then if you say that, it’s hard to say, ‘Hey we’re going to be an elite defense’ without investing in that position.'”
In the NFL these days, personnel officials consider inside linebackers and off-the-ball outside linebackers “linebackers,” with pass-rushing outside backers typically considered edge defenders. The latter is the higher-profile of the two positions, with value measured in sacks and pressures – and as such, it takes higher priority in the draft.
That doesn’t make inside linebackers or off-the-ball outside linebackers unimportant. And it doesn’t mean there aren’t good players available there in this draft.
This is perhaps a slightly lower-profile year for linebackers than past seasons.
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