Overview

Position: LB

College: Ole Miss

Class: Junior (RS)

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 6’0 7/8”

Weight: 222 lbs.

Arm length: 29 7/8”

Hand size: 9 3/8”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.63 sec.

10-yard split: 1.62 sec.

Vertical jump: 36.0”

Broad jump: 117.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Instinctive and aggressive. Top-notch overall tackler. Extremely reliable wrapping up. Highly impressive stopping power at his size. Knows how to twist opponents to the ground however he can. Excellent play recognition. Great technique strafing into rushing lanes. Extremely effective mirroring ball-carriers as they pick a rushing lane. Stays square and ready to attack as a run defender. Very willing to stand in the hole to make tackles. Aggressive but controlled working downhill to disrupt the run. Natural instincts to avoid blockers/traffic to play the ball-carrier. Keeps his eyes on the ball while in pursuit towards the sideline. Great balance and focus chasing down ball-carriers. Outstanding burst to close on the ball. Controlled but fast when pursuing from behind. Very good pursuit speed and acceleration in general. Tremendous hustle. Athletic leaving his feet to tackle. Quick to bring down opponents in the open field. Keeps his responsibility as a backside run defender. Quality strength when he extends versus blockers before they can attach. Quick overall reaction time to make up for a false step. Aggressive working downhill as a run blitzer. Doesn’t tip his hand on blitzes. Shows some dip as a rusher off the edge. Impressive impact strength taking on running backs as a blitzer. Gets ideal depth in zone drops between the hashes. Good athleticism to cover opponents on simple routes. Tremendous accuracy reaching to deflect passes away at the catch point. Showed well in a few opportunities in man coverage versus LSU tight end Mason Taylor (2024). Instincts in coverage shown on deflected pass versus LSU that resulted in an interception by a teammate (2024).

 

Weaknesses

Below-average overall size and length. Can be absorbed and pinned down by blockers on the second level. Less awareness versus blockers coming from the side. Could be more consistent shedding when opponents attach. Will sometimes slightly overrun when tracking runners to the sideline. Seems overly focused on defending the run and will be slow playing routes. Sometimes a tick delayed versus play action. Could be better deciding when to stay in coverage and when to go after a scrambling quarterback. Might have some trouble versus quicker route breaks.

 

NFL comparison

Nick Bolton

 

Conclusion

Overall, Paul is the type of linebacker you want to tie a defense together with high effort and effectiveness as a tackler. His play versus SEC opponents bodes well for his NFL transition as a target early on Day 2.

 

Big Board ranking: #59 | Positional ranking: #2