2013 Senior Bowl – Linebackers Jaguars Fans Should Watch

The 2013 Senior Bowl is a mini-holiday in the down period following the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.  NFL teams send their representatives and roll out the red carpet to those players they anticipate making a successful jump into the NFL.  For some on the Senior Bowl rosters playing well will mean a jump up on teams’ big boards.  Others look to continue showing off after their college careers are over.

Need I remind any of us how bad our linebacking corps was at the start of the season?  Starting Kyle Bosworth, Russell Allen, and Paul Posluszny was bad beyond belief.  I cringed thinking what a terrible season this was for Poz in the middle.  He simply couldn’t turn a good depth guy (Allen) and a bad replacement (Bosworth) into starting linebackers.  Daryl Smith finally returned to the lineup late in the season, but it is apparent that the Jags need depth and one more starting caliber player at the position.

Thankfully there looks to be some possible candidates preparing to show off at the 2013 Senior Bowl.

Brown could be a good traditional 4-3 OLB for the Jags if they wanted to take him early in the second.  Source:  Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Arthur Brown, OLB, Kansas State

• Brown’s transfer to Kansas State from Miami (Florida) really helped K-State get on track on defense.  Brown had 201 tackles and 16.5 tackles for a loss to go with three sacks and three interceptions during his two seasons at Kansas State.  The guy is a practically a machine.  He looks to be a second round pick but could be worth more than that for teams that need linebacker help.

Khaseem Greene, OLB/DB, Rutgers

• Greene intrigues me.  He played defensive back for his first three years in college and then moved up to linebacker for the 2012 season.  He has an impressive 136 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, six sacks, and two picks as a linebacker.  These totals come on the heels of an impressive 141 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks as a strong safety the year before.  Green could be versatile for the Jags, especially since they have had difficulty running with tight ends in the past.

Jamie Collins, OLB/DE, Southern Mississippi

• Projected to be a third round pick, Collins could be interesting piece with the Jags.  While he wouldn’t fill the need of a traditional 4-3 OLB, he could be used extensively in unique packages that new head coach Gus Bradley likes.  Bradley is known to move some guys around and could value the versatility of a guy like Collins (10 sacks, 20 tackles for a loss, 92 tackles, four forced fumbles in 2012) on a pass rush starved team.  Like Greene, Collins started his college career as a DB.

– Luke N. Sims

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