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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Top 5 Linebacker Draft Prospects

Who are the best linebackers in this year's draft class?

Apr 02, 2015 at 04:32 AM

NFL Draft: Top Linebackers

Florida's Dante Fowler and Clemson's Vic Beasley lead a talented group of linebackers.

25. Bryce Hager, Baylor
1 / 25
24. Taiwan Jones, Michigan State
2 / 25
23. Geneo Grissom, Oklahoma
3 / 25
22. Jake Ryan, Michigan
4 / 25
21. Markus Golden, Missouri
5 / 25
20. Hayes Pullard, USC
6 / 25
19. Ramik Wilson, Georgia
7 / 25
18. Mike Hull, Penn State
8 / 25
17. Jordan Hicks, Texas
9 / 25
16. Hau'Oli Kikaha, Washington
10 / 25
15. Kwon Alexander, LSU
11 / 25
14. Ben Heeney, Kansas
12 / 25
13. Lorenzo Mauldin, Louisville
13 / 25
12. Davis Tull, Chattanooga
14 / 25
11. Stephone Anthony, Clemson
15 / 25
10. Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State
16 / 25
9. Eli Harold, Virginia
17 / 25
8. Eric Kendricks, UCLA
18 / 25
7. Paul Dawson, TCU
19 / 25
6. Denzel Perryman, Miami
20 / 25
5. Shaq Thompson, Washington
21 / 25
4. Bud Dupree, Kentucky
22 / 25
3. Randy Gregory, Nebraska
23 / 25
2. Vic Beasley, Clemson
24 / 25
1. Dante Fowler, Florida
25 / 25
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> READ: LINEBACKER DRAFT PREVIEW

When putting together his rankings, NFL Media's Mike Mayock lists "edge-rushers" seperately from "linebackers". For that reasons, Nebraska's Randy Gregory and Clemson's Vic Beasley are not included in this linebacker list.

Earning the top spot is TCU's Paul Dawson. Despite what many consider a poor performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, Mayock believes Dawson will be the first pure linebacker off the board.

"Outrageously productive linebacker with a nose for the ball," NFL.com's scouting report said. "Dawson averages a tackle every 5.3 snaps and either caused or recovered a total of 8 turnovers during the 2014 season. Evaluators understand that Dawson has been a handful while at TCU and that will turn some teams off to him completely. Dawson can play inside in a 2-gap scheme but is a natural fit at 4-3 WILL."

Below are the top 5 linebacker prospects, according to Mayock:

  1. Paul Dawson, TCU
  2. Eric Kendricks, UCLA
  3. Stephone Anthony, Clemson
  4. Denzel Perryman, Miami (Fla.)
  5. Benardrick McKinney, Miss. St.

> READ: TOP RUNNING BACK PROSPECTS

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