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By Michael Stewart/@golferbad

This will be part 10 in a series of 13 as we check out the outside linebacker position of the 2021 NFL draft. The outside linebacker position in the upcoming draft has a solid list of explosive prospects with some considered “tweener’s” (edge rushers/OLB) who played a little more at defensive end in college, but I project them to transition over at outside linebacker in the NFL. The outside linebacker position is fairly deep as we should see a good handful of prospects having their names called this year. Let’s take a look at my Top 10 outside linebackers in the upcoming draft.

  1. Micah Parsons (Penn State)-6’3/245: Played inside and outside in college.
  2. Zaven Collins (Tulsa)-6’4/260: Played inside, more suited for OLB in NFL.
  3. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Notre Dame)-6’1/215: Hybrid linebacker.
  4. Azzez Ojulari (Georgia)-6’3/240: high ceiling, but still raw.
  5. Quincy Roche (Miami)-6’5/235: Played DE as well, more suited for OLB in NFL.
  6. Hamilcar Rashed Jr. (Oregon State)-6’4/236: More suited for OLB in NFL
  7. Jabril Cox (LSU)-6’4/233: Very versatile, can play multiple positions.
  8. Xavier Thomas (Clemson)-6’2/265: Played DE, more suited at OLB in NFL.
  9. Charles Snowden (Virginia)-6’7/235: Needs time to develop, has upside.
  10. Kuony Deng (California)-6’6/250: Played ILB in college, more suited for OLB.

With many NFL teams looking for outside linebackers who are more athletic and able to be play makers at any given time. We should see a large portion of outside linebackers taken in this year’s draft and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the UDFA phase produces some hidden gems at this position.