Daniel Simpkins explains in his recent IDP strategy article that linebackers make up the core of most IDP squads. This position provides the most week to week consistency and has the steepest production curves of the IDP positions. The 2015 linebacker class has a number of players with the potential to be anchors of any IDP team. Once the combine and pro day metrics are available I normally rank linebackers based on a permutation of the WASED metric. Although with little data currently, these pre-combine tiers are mostly based on film study.
Tier 1: Top Inside Linebackers
Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
McKinney is an absolute beast. He should be contending for the first defensive player drafted in rookie drafts. McKinney really has it all with great quickness, instincts, patience, at size at 6’5″, 205 pounds. On film he really excels at breaking block contact once he makes a read on the play. A C.J. Mosely type of NFL impact in his first year is not out of the question.
@MitchOstey03 McKinney is my top ranked ILB.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 16, 2015
Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA
When I watch Kendricks, I cannot help but think about a thirty pound heavier version of Troy Polamalu playing inside linebacker. Kendricks absolutely flies around the field and makes plays that look impossible at first. Kendricks is a little undersized at 6’1″ 230 lbs, but he makes up for it in speed, reactions, and ferocity.
@Nfldrafttalker I still haven’t really dug in yet. Eric Kendricksis my current crush. Wondering about BernardrickMcKinney — ArifHasan(@ArifHasanNFL) January 31, 2015
