Consensus board vs. draft day: the full LB class, charted.
The Steal
Aiden Fisher was ranked LB13 on the consensus board (#149 overall) but lasted until pick 243, where the Houston Texans took him in Round 7. A 94-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any LB in the class. Behind him, Harold Perkins Jr. (+76) and Kyle Louis (+70) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Atlanta Falcons took Kendal Daniels at pick 134, 100 spots ahead of his #234 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Jimmy Rolder (49 spots) and Justin Jefferson (49 spots).
The Cliff
After Anthony Hill went at pick 60, the next LB didn't come off the board for 58 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 23 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 Washington Commanders spent more draft capital on LB than any other club: pick 7, 49% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Deontae Lawson, ranked #117 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 257 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Sonny Styles | LB1 | #5 | +2 | Ohio State | Washington |
| 43 | Jacob Rodriguez | LB3 | #43 | 0 | Texas Tech | Miami |
| 46 | Josiah Trotter | LB6 | #62 | −16 | Missouri | Tampa Bay |
| 51 | Jake Golday | LB5 | #52 | −1 | Cincinnati | Minnesota |
| 53 | CJ Allen | LB2 | #35 | +18 | Georgia | Indianapolis |
| 60 | Anthony Hill | LB4 | #49 | +11 | Texas | Tennessee |
| 118 | Jimmy Rolder | LB15 | #167 | −49 | Michigan | Detroit |
| 123 | Wade Woodaz | LB23 | #281 | −158 | Clemson | Houston |
| 126 | Kaleb Elarms-Orr | LB10 | #138 | −12 | TCU | Buffalo |
| 134 | Kendal Daniels | LB20 | #234 | −100 | Oklahoma | Atlanta |
| 135 | Bryce Boettcher | LB12 | #147 | −12 | Oregon | Indianapolis |
| 138 | Kyle Louis | LB7 | #68 | +70 | Pittsburgh | Miami |
| 149 | Justin Jefferson | LB18 | #198 | −49 | Alabama | Cleveland |
| 154 | Jaden Dugger | LB24 | #284 | −130 | Louisiana | San Fransisco |
| 166 | Keyshaun Elliott | LB9 | #134 | +32 | Arizona State | Chicago |
| 183 | Karson Sharar | LB27 | #301 | −118 | Iowa | Arizona |
| 193 | Jack Kelly | LB16 | #189 | +4 | BYU | New York Giants |
| 212 | Namdi Obiazor | LB26 | #297 | −85 | TCU | New England |
| 215 | Harold Perkins Jr. | LB11 | #139 | +76 | LSU | Atlanta |
| 227 | Jackson Kuwatch | LB28 | #346 | −119 | Miami (OH) | Carolina |
| 240 | Parker Hughes | LB29 | #679 | −439 | Middle Tennessee State | Jacksonville |
| 243 | Aiden Fisher | LB13 | #149 | +94 | Indiana | Houston |
| 257 | Red Murdock | LB17 | #197 | +60 | Buffalo | Denver |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Deontae Lawson | LB8 | #117 | — | Alabama | — |
| — | Taurean York | LB14 | #162 | — | Texas A&M | — |
| — | Lander Barton | LB19 | #217 | — | Utah | — |
| — | Eric Gentry | LB21 | #247 | — | USC | — |
| — | Xavian Sorey | LB22 | #275 | — | Arkansas | — |
| — | Scooby Williams | LB25 | #295 | — | Texas A&M | — |
| — | Owen Heinecke | LB | — | — | Oklahoma | — |
| — | Wesley Bissainthe | LB | — | — | Miami | — |
| — | Ernest Hausmann | LB | — | — | Michigan | — |
| — | Khalil Jacobs | LB | — | — | Missouri | — |
| — | Shad Banks Jr. | LB | — | — | UTSA | — |
| — | Jack Dingle | LB | — | — | Cincinnati | — |
| — | West Weeks | LB | — | — | LSU | — |
| — | Javin Wright | LB | — | — | Nebraska | — |
| — | TJ Quinn | LB | — | — | Louisville | — |
| — | Quinn Urwiler | LB | — | — | Northern Illinois | — |
| — | Dominic DeLuca | LB | — | — | Penn State | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.