The Ohio State University is losing James Laurinaitis to the NFL Draft.  The 6’1″, 245 lb. linebacker is a late first round, early second round predicted pick.  Lauranaitis has some accolades earned as a Buckeye to enhance his value.  He won the Nagurski trophy in 2006 and also won the Lombardi trophy, given to the best linebacker in college football in 2007.  Last season as a Jr, Lauranaitis led the Buckeyes in tackles and had 5 sacks and 2 INT.

What is so attractive about Lauranaitis is his ability to drop and read in pass coverage.  He got his hands on a bunch of passes last season and put himself in position to make many big plays.  Against the run, Lauranaitis has been knocked for making plays too far off of the ball.  A good linebacker fills the hole and makes the tackle at the line.  Lauranaitis made all those tackles, but so many were for three to five yard gains.

Many mock drafts I have seen so far have him going #20 overall to Detroit.  The Lions did well drafting Chris Spielman and are really hurting for defense.  The pick would make sense to me.  I have also seen Lauranaitis as high as #14 to New Orleans, which lacks star power on defense, and as low as #24 to Atlanta where defense is the biggest need.

Many are critical to point out that if Lauranaitis came out a year ago, his draft stock would have been much higher, potentially a top-ten pick.  I would say you can never criticize a college athlete for staying in school regardless of how good or ready the scouts feel he may be. 

No Responses to “Who Wants James Laurinaitis In The 2009 NFL Draft?”