Consensus board vs. draft day: the full LB class, charted.
The Steal
Markus Bailey was ranked LB15 on the consensus board (#160 overall) but lasted until pick 215, where the Cincinnati Bengals took him in Round 7. A 55-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any LB in the class. Behind him, Evan Weaver (+46) and Zack Baun (+42) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Atlanta Falcons took Mykal Walker at pick 119, 85 spots ahead of his #204 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Kamal Martin (74 spots) and Jordyn Brooks (57 spots).
The Cliff
After Patrick Queen went at pick 28, the next LB didn't come off the board for 35 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 28 picks on LB, 5 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 24 since 2018.
The Bet
The Arizona Cardinals spent more draft capital on LB than any other club: picks 8 and 202, 51% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Joe Bachie, ranked #175 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 255 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Isaiah Simmons | LB1 | #4 | +4 | Clemson | Arizona |
| 23 | Kenneth Murray | LB3 | #20 | +3 | Oklahoma | LA Chargers |
| 27 | Jordyn Brooks | LB8 | #84 | −57 | Texas Tech | Seattle |
| 28 | Patrick Queen | LB2 | #19 | +9 | LSU | Baltimore |
| 63 | Willie Gay Jr. | LB10 | #89 | −26 | Mississippi State | Kansas City |
| 65 | Logan Wilson | LB9 | #86 | −21 | Wyoming | Cincinnati |
| 74 | Zack Baun | LB4 | #32 | +42 | Wisconsin | New Orleans |
| 84 | Terrell Lewis | LB5 | #60 | +24 | Alabama | LA Rams |
| 97 | Jacob Phillips | LB13 | #154 | −57 | LSU | Cleveland |
| 98 | Malik Harrison | LB6 | #74 | +24 | Ohio State | Baltimore |
| 103 | Davion Taylor | LB12 | #145 | −42 | Colorado | Philadelphia |
| 107 | Akeem Davis-Gaither | LB7 | #82 | +25 | Appalachian State | Cincinnati |
| 119 | Mykal Walker | LB23 | #204 | −85 | Fresno State | Atlanta |
| 132 | Troy Dye | LB11 | #109 | +23 | Oregon | Minnesota |
| 140 | Shaquille Quarterman | LB17 | #190 | −50 | Miami | Jacksonville |
| 162 | Khaleke Hudson | LB19 | #195 | −33 | Michigan | Washington |
| 175 | Kamal Martin | LB24 | #249 | −74 | Minnesota | Green Bay |
| 178 | Justin Strnad | LB18 | #191 | −13 | Wake Forest | Denver |
| 183 | Cam Brown | LB21 | #198 | −15 | Penn State | NY Giants |
| 196 | Shaun Bradley | LB25 | #264 | −68 | Temple | Philadelphia |
| 202 | Evan Weaver | LB14 | #156 | +46 | California | Arizona |
| 204 | Cassh Maluia | LB | — | — | Wyoming | New England |
| 213 | Jordan Glasgow | LB | — | — | Michigan | Indianapolis |
| 215 | Markus Bailey | LB15 | #160 | +55 | Purdue | Cincinnati |
| 234 | Clay Johnston | LB | — | — | Baylor | LA Rams |
| 238 | T.J. Brunson | LB | — | — | South Carolina | NY Giants |
| 241 | Chapelle Russell | LB | — | — | Temple | Tampa Bay |
| 255 | Tae Crowder | LB | — | — | Georgia | NY Giants |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Joe Bachie | LB16 | #175 | — | Michigan State | — |
| — | David Woodward | LB20 | #197 | — | Utah State | — |
| — | Francis Bernard | LB22 | #199 | — | Utah | — |
| — | Michael Pinckney | LB26 | #266 | — | Miami | — |
| — | Michael Divinity Jr. | LB27 | #274 | — | LSU | — |
| — | Jordan Mack | LB28 | #287 | — | Virginia | — |
| — | Dante Olson | LB29 | #296 | — | Montana | — |
| — | Azur Kamara | LB30 | #298 | — | Kansas | — |
| — | Brandon Wellington | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Cale Garrett | LB | — | — | Missouri | — |
| — | Cam Gill | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | De'Jon Harris | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Keandre Jones | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Kylan Johnson | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Mohamed Barry | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Sam Franklin | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Scoota Harris | LB | — | — | Arkansas | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.