Junior Colson 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Junior Colson NFL Draft Overview

Position: Inside Linebacker School: Michigan

Height: 6’2

Weight:  338 lbs

Age: 21 years old

Arm: 32 1/2″

Hand: 9 3/8″

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Being an inside linebacker is about being the captain of the defense. He has to direct the defensive line and his linebacker crew and send signals to the defensive backfill. To have a great true middle linebacker on your squad who can run, sideline the sideline, cover, and hit like a maniac is an actual chest piece for your defense. That is precisely how to describe Michigan with linebacker Junior Colson. The steady linebacker was a four-star linebacker out of Brentwood, Tennessee, who committed to Michigan. At Michigan, Colson racked up 256 total yards, eight tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks. These impressive stats led to multiple (two) Big Ten selection honors and a national championship. Will his success carry over to the NFL? Let’s dig into the film!

Junior Colson Player Evaluation

Colson’s Strengths

• He is a good athlete who can cover the ground from sideline to sideline to stop the run. It can disguise complex coverages and gain ground to get to landmarks. Good in-man coverage on tight ends and running backs staying in the phase of the targets.
• He controls and roams the middle of the field on defense. He can take away cheap completions. He is physical when targets come to his zone area. He can take away vertical routes up the seam.
• When he plays fast downhill, he can see the explosion in his hips when taking on blockers and running backs in the hole. He can either stalemate or make a clean tackle.
• Offers a good height, size, and speed combination. It helps make his play scheme versatile.
• Experience, played in a proven successful NFL defensive scheme that’s popular in the NFL
• Has impressive length to knockdown passes. Has experience as a spy.

Colson’s Weakness

• His impressive size only sometimes shows in the run game. He can be hesitant to pull the trigger and attack downhill, causing him to get blocked
• He has long arms, but they don’t matter because he doesn’t know how to use his hands in the run game. His inconsistent timing and placement with his hands allow offensive linemen to latch on him.
• For some reason gets square with the offensive line and only attacks half the man. Only a little physicality is displayed.
• On zone runs late to his target landmarks. He gets hooked and is hesitant to hit the gap.

Projection: Fourth Round Pick

NFL Comparison: Dorian Williams

Best Fits: Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans.

Bottom Line

Junior Colson is a high upside solid floor prospect who brings plenty of experience and leadership to an NFL team. Colson can cover running backs and tight ends. He is versatile and can hit and wrap up tackle with the best of this class. However, his lack of physical run defense is a concern. He’s hesitant to attack downhill and can’t get off blocks. Expect him to get drafted and off the board at the end of the third round, maybe early fourth. Colson can be an incredible instant depth and developmental prospect. Main Photo Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK