With new Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo in town and WILL LB EJ Speed a Free Agent, the Colts could address Linebacker in the 2025 Draft relatively.
Jihaad Campbell
Campbell enjoyed a huge breakout season in 2024 for the Roll Tide. With 116 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles, and 1 INT, Campbell set easy career highs. He excelled as a blitzer, but also led all of college football in coverage stops and had an 80.1 coverage grade. Campbell was also a highly reliable tackler at 5.9%.
One player that I am excited to watch this week is Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell.
Campbell is already the consensus LB1 (Jalon Walker is kind of his own thing) who could put an exclamation point at the end of his prospect profile with a big week in Indy. https://t.co/46xycMj8io pic.twitter.com/hgH7LoIBok
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) February 25, 2025
A well rounded prospect, a dominant Combine could shoot Campbell into top half of the Round 1 conversation.
Carson Schwesinger
The former Bruin only had 101 snaps heading into 2024, but he made the most of his full time starting opportunity. He had 133 tackles, 2 INTs, 50 run stops, 4 sacks, 1 Forced Fumbles, and 7.6% Miss Tackle rate.
Looking for your very own Zack Baun? May I interest you in UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger? I don’t think he’ll get boxed out as a disruptor at the next level with his size, because he’s great at reading gaps and timing angles. And the awareness/match feet in coverage… nifty. pic.twitter.com/FG1EDJBGTT
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 24, 2025
Schwesinger was a very fluid and explosive playmaker with a lot of fun coverage reps on tape. He needs a strong Combine to pair with his small sample size to help maintain his Top-50 Draft billing, and perhaps enter the Round 1 Conversation.
Smael Mondon Jr.
Smael (pronounced Smile) Mondon Jr. flew around the field for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2024. Mondon displayed a lot of range and energy for the Bulldogs, but only had a part time role in the loaded Georgia Defense, thus he will to to reinforce his athleticism to help boost his stock.
Georgia LB Smael Mondon Jr has been excellent through two days of work.
Physical downhill presence & a smooth athlete in space. His 1-1 reps in coverage today⤵️ pic.twitter.com/eiXRNoeoxf
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) January 29, 2025
Jeffrey Bassa
A former Safety turned LB, Bassa brings a ton of coverage ability in the mid-zones and in man coverage.
Finally did a deeper dove on LB Jeffrey Bassa and he’s officially one of my guys. Far from a finished product but I love his tools, poise, and how he plays the run
Clear leader up front for Oregon who could be a perfect Bentley replacement long-term
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) February 21, 2025
His weigh ins will be especially key for his positional switch, but as an undersized LB pushing 230 lbs, Bassa needs to test very well to emphasize his range and fluidity over potential size concerns against blockers.
Demetrius Knight Jr.
Knight is on the opposite size of the spectrum of Bassa, as a huge 6’1 246lb. Linebacker with 33.25” arms. He was a starter at Charlotte in 2023 before transferring to South Carolina to start for the Gamecocks.
Demetrius Knight Jr. is a ball of lightning at LB ⚡️
He explodes to top speed and tackles well in pursuit. Strong, long build (6’1, 248lbs) allows him to stack & shed blocks and hit HARD.
Coverage instincts are sound, but some hip tightness limits him. Day 2 talent. pic.twitter.com/spDW9G0Ovq
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) February 25, 2025
Knight despite his size showed a lot of speed and coverage ability on tape, and if he proves it in timed drills he could cement a strong claim for Day 1-2 stock rise.