Consensus board vs. draft day: the full LB class, charted.
The Steal
Cameron McGrone was ranked LB11 on the consensus board (#113 overall) but lasted until pick 177, where the New England Patriots took him in Round 5. A 64-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any LB in the class. Behind him, Jabril Cox (+57) and Baron Browning (+38) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Pittsburgh Steelers took Buddy Johnson at pick 140, 112 spots ahead of his #252 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Ernest Jones (101 spots) and Nick Niemann (64 spots).
The Cliff
After Isaiah McDuffie went at pick 220, the next LB didn't come off the board for 39 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 20 picks on LB, 6 of them in the first two rounds. That's below the position's average of 24 since 2018.
The Bet
The Dallas Cowboys spent more draft capital on LB than any other club: picks 12 and 115, 33% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Dylan Moses, ranked #110 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 259 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Micah Parsons | LB1 | #11 | +1 | Penn State | Dallas |
| 16 | Zaven Collins | LB3 | #24 | −8 | Tulsa | Arizona |
| 19 | Jamin Davis | LB4 | #38 | −19 | Kentucky | Washington |
| 52 | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | LB2 | #17 | +35 | Notre Dame | Cleveland |
| 58 | Nick Bolton | LB5 | #51 | +7 | Missouri | Kansas City |
| 60 | Pete Werner | LB8 | #78 | −18 | Ohio State | New Orleans |
| 78 | Chazz Surratt | LB9 | #81 | −3 | North Carolina | Minnesota |
| 92 | Monty Rice | LB12 | #132 | −40 | Georgia | Tennessee |
| 103 | Ernest Jones | LB17 | #204 | −101 | South Carolina | LA Rams |
| 105 | Baron Browning | LB7 | #67 | +38 | Ohio State | Denver |
| 113 | Derrick Barnes | LB13 | #148 | −35 | Purdue | Detroit |
| 115 | Jabril Cox | LB6 | #58 | +57 | LSU | Dallas |
| 140 | Buddy Johnson | LB22 | #252 | −112 | Texas A&M | Pittsburgh |
| 153 | Tony Fields II | LB15 | #177 | −24 | West Virginia | Cleveland |
| 170 | Garret Wallow | LB16 | #197 | −27 | TCU | Houston |
| 176 | K.J. Britt | LB18 | #222 | −46 | Auburn | Tampa Bay |
| 177 | Cameron McGrone | LB11 | #113 | +64 | Michigan | New England |
| 185 | Nick Niemann | LB21 | #249 | −64 | Iowa | LA Chargers |
| 220 | Isaiah McDuffie | LB19 | #227 | −7 | Boston College | Green Bay |
| 259 | Grant Stuard | LB25 | #282 | −23 | Houston | Tampa Bay |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Dylan Moses | LB10 | #110 | — | — | — |
| — | Charles Snowden | LB14 | #155 | — | — | — |
| — | Justin Hilliard | LB20 | #240 | — | Ohio State | — |
| — | Paddy Fisher | LB23 | #265 | — | Northwestern | — |
| — | Amen Ogbongbemiga | LB24 | #279 | — | Oklahoma State | — |
| — | Anthony Hines III | LB26 | #294 | — | — | — |
| — | Amandre Williams | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Antjuan Simmons | LB | — | — | Michigan State | — |
| — | Blake Gallagher | LB | — | — | Northwestern | — |
| — | Chris Bergin | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Curtis Robinson | LB | — | — | Stanford | — |
| — | Elijah Sullivan | LB | — | — | Kansas State | — |
| — | Erroll Thompson | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Jon Rhattigan | LB | — | — | Army | — |
| — | Jordan Fox | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Kyle Pugh | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Riley Cole | LB | — | — | South Alabama | — |
| — | Treshaun Hayward | LB | — | — | — | — |
| — | Tuf Borland | LB | — | — | Ohio State | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.