Name: Drew Sanders

School:  Arkansas

Year:  Jr

Position:  Linebacker

Measurables:  6’5’’, 230 lbs.

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

All Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders needed was a little opportunity. The Junior became a consensus All-American after transferring from Alabama last Spring. After committing to Alabama as an all-around athlete in high school and the number one overall recruit from Texas, Sanders became a member of a deep and talented linebacker rotation that included two other prominent members of the 2023 draft class in Will Anderson and Henry To’oTo’o. As a freshman, he did make an impact on Special Teams but wasn’t utilized much on the defensive side of the ball.

As a sophomore, Sanders played primarily as an edge defender for the Crimson Tide. He appeared in 11 games but was hindered by injury in several. He finished the season with just 17 tackles and nine total pressures.

Stuck in the rotation at Alabama, Sanders decided to try his luck with Sam Pittman and the Hogs. He switched from the edge to more of an off-ball inside linebacker. He continued to be a versatile player for the Razorbacks, playing on the edge in certain sub-packages. He finished the season with an impressive 103 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. Sanders also added a pick and five pass breakups. He piled up the accolades on the way to becoming a fringe first-round pick.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

As mentioned above, Sanders’ best quality is his versatility. There’s a reason he played on the edge for two years at Alabama, and there’s reason to believe he could play inside or out in the NFL. He excels as a quick-twitch athlete with equal ability to rush the passer or drop into coverage. His ability to read and react from the middle is where he truly shines. In zone coverage, Sanders’s instincts and explosiveness breaking on routes led to solid pass defense for Arkansas.

Sanders has a unique frame for an inside linebacker. He’s got incredible length at 6’5’’ with an enormous wingspan. Sanders has the fluidity to play as a speed rusher off the edge. His elusiveness allows him to shed blocks, and he has impressive power when attacking ball-carriers downhill.

Weaknesses

Sanders is an interesting player because he might not be polished enough as a pass-rusher to play primarily on the edge and he doesn’t possess the bulk and size to be a prominent run-stopper in the middle. He’s very slender for 6’5’’. His length should be enticing as an edge player, but he’ll need to rely on more than his speed and change of direction to take on the large linemen of the NFL.

Sanders may be a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. He’s only played one year as an inside linebacker, so he shouldn’t be tasked with leading a defense as a rookie. Sanders would be best utilized by a creative defensive mind who can give him free reign to move around the formation. Think of how Dan Quinn and the Cowboys move Micah Parsons around the formation to maximize his unique skillet.

Fit with the Packers:

The Packers are very much in the market for edge rushers this off-season. Preston Smith is coming off a solid bounce-back season but will turn 31 this year. Rashon Gary has just begun entering his prime but was unfortunately sidelined by a torn ACL halfway through last season. Bane Gary is a freak athlete, but he will need some time to reach full speed early in the season. The Packers have ranked 16th and 27th in team sacks under the two seasons with Joe Barry as defensive coordinator. With Gary coming off injury and Smith getting up there in age, this team is desperate for an infusion of youth at edge rusher.

The trouble with projecting Sanders to the Packers is that they took a similar player in the first round of last year’s draft. Quay Walker led the team in tackles as a rookie. Barry and General Manager Brian Gutekunst envisioned Walker as more of a hybrid linebacker with the ability to provide some juice as a pass-rusher. An injury to starting inside linebacker and 2021 All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell forced Walker into a play-calling role. Walker was able to gain valuable experience, but his play was inconsistent at best.

Sanders has a similar play style to Walker but with a bit more experience on the edge. It’s possible the Packers would like to add another explosive linebacker to the rotation and figure out how to utilize each player’s strengths later. With the depth at middle linebacker, Sanders may not be the polished pass-rusher the Packers desperately need.