Linebacker prospects to watch at the Senior Bowl ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft: A college football star and two sleepers
Three LBs that could turn heads at the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and as a result raise their draft stock ahead of the NFL Draft.
The Super Bowl matchup is now set with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks officially crowned conference champions. The other 30 teams are already in offseason mode, which, of course, means the most wonderful time of year: draft season.
The 2026 NFL Draft will be here before you know it, and one of the big milestones of the process has already arrived. The players have already reported to the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and they take the field for their first practice on Tuesday.
Here at A to Z Sports, we are giving you some players to watch this week who we believe will turn heads. This piece will focus on off-ball linebackers, which I believe is one of the most underrated position groups at this year’s Senior Bowl.
Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
Jacob Rodriguez was one of the best players on one of the best defenses in the country this year at Texas Tech. Rodriguez did a little bit of everything for the Red Raiders on the field, on top of being a major locker room leader.
Despite his unreal production, which had him finish sixth in the Heisman voting, he still isn’t viewed as an elite draft prospect. One reason for this is that being smaller than most teams would like to see an off-ball LB at 6-1, 230 lbs. He’s also expected to test as an average at best athlete.
Even with those shortcomings, he was dominant for the Red Raiders in so many different ways. It feels like there is a lot of overthinking happening when it comes to Rodriguez. This week at the Senior Bowl, he will get the chance to silence his doubters and let his play do the talking.
Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh
If a team is looking for a coverage LB, Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis is one of the best in the class. He looks pretty comfortable dropping back and covering TEs and RBs, and he has even had to cover WRs.
On top of his coverage, he is also a lethal blitzer. Louis has the makings of being the best LB at the Senior Bowl, as he has the talent to dominate one-on-one coverage reps and team drills.
He is undersized for an LB, at 6-1, 220 pounds. Thanks in part to that, he moves great for an LB, but most NFL teams will want him to beef up a bit, so they will wonder how much that will slow him down. But for now, it will be exciting to see how he performs in Mobile.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU
Despite not being a special athlete, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, out of TCU, moves well in coverage. He is more comfortable in man-to-man concepts, where his assignment is simply to cover his guy.
He will also be a plus as a pass rusher at the pro level, as he is savvy at identifying the best gap to optimize his path to the QB. I expect Elarms-Orr to be one of the biggest risers at LB during the Senior Bowl.
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