Overview

Position: LB

College: Michigan

Class: Junior

Age: 21

Measurables

Height: 6’2 1/4″

Weight: 238 lbs.

Arm length: 32 1/2″

Hand size: 9 3/8”

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: N/A

10-yard split: N/A

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

Strengths

Excellent overall movement skills. Plays with outstanding overall balance. Tremendous speed and acceleration. Great instincts in space. Terrific pursuit towards the sideline. Very tough between the tackles. Aggressive and strong wrap-up tackler. Very strong in general. Will take on bigger blockers and shed to tackle. Excellent quickness to get off blocks. Can brush off a block and keep moving by barely breaking stride. Finds his way into the backfield versus the run. Very effective chasing and tackling on runs away from him. Very capable run defender in short-yardage situations. Quick to recognize and play screen passes. Extremely fluid shuffling/moving in coverage. Very fast and gets depth in the backpedal. Will be all over running backs and tight ends in underneath man coverage. Experience in man coverage versus running backs outside the numbers. Very reliable tackler in underneath coverage. Quick to tackle after short completions. Good burst and aggressive taking on blockers as a blitzer. Used to blitz from the edge. Extremely high football character and toughness. Played through a broken hand and had casts on both hands down the stretch in 2023.

Weaknesses

Could be more direct in run fits to meet ball-carriers in the hole or before they get going. Too often fails to take a direct path to the ball both versus the run and as a blitzer. Takes some poor angles trying to get around blockers and ends up too shallow. Initial step as a run defender is sometimes opposite the play. Gets fooled by play fakes versus the run. Sometimes drifts too far backwards in zone coverage and allows an open target in front of him.

NFL comparison

Jerome Baker

Conclusion

Overall, Colson is an extremely tough linebacker with ideal aggressiveness as a tackler and great ability in coverage. If he can become more consistently direct to the ball with increased experience, Colson has the potential to be an impact player for an NFL defense.

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: LB Junior Colson