Draft Eligible Linebackers Waiting For Free Agent Market To Play Out

The new NFL league year officially ticked over at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, signalling the start of free agency. The free agent class directly effects the draft class, because if a team goes out and spends $50million on a wide receiver (for example the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), it will more than likely change their draft strategy (pretty safe bet they won't be drafting Justin Blackmon with the fifth overall pick). We are two days into free agency, and a lot of positional groups have already played out and signed on somewhere. The one position that still has just about all of it's top talent available, is the inside linebackers.

Top tier guys like London Fletcher, Curtis Lofton, Stephen Tulloch and David Hawthorne have yet to catch on anywhere. They appear to all be waiting for one guy to make the move and set the market for the rest of them. But the longer this plays out, the longer guys like Luke Kuechly and Don'ta Hightower will have the uncertainty hanging over their heads.

Up until free agency, a lot of mock drafts had the Eagles selecting Kuechly at 15. But if they go out and sign a Curtis Lofton (they were rumored to be interested), then the 15th pick would probably be better spent elsewhere. This could cause Kuechly to fall down the draft board, particularly with the strength of the free agent inside linebacker group. Teams might feel they'd be better off signing one of these proven veterans than using their first round pick on position that holds critical importance in most defenses. A middle linebacker in a 4-3 team can effectively be the quarterback of the defense; having to know where everyone is meant to lined up, read what the offense is trying to do and then checking out of bad plays that could give up big chunks of yardage or even touchdowns. To put that much responsibility on a rookie linebacker might by a little daunting for some teams. Those teams may prefer to sign a veteran they can trust, and draft a developmental guy in the later rounds to coach up behind the veteran.

However, it's not too hard to imagine those players re-signing with their former teams, or going to a contender with a pick at the end of the first round. In that scenario, the aforementioned players could rise up the board as teams in the top 20 weren't able to sign a veteran and simply have to fill a hole at a very important position. If the Seahawks end up losing Hawthorne, they could be temped with Kuechly at 12. With Kuechly gone, the Eagles at 15 or maybe the Lions at 22 might reach for Hightower because of the need (Not saying either team will, just listing examples).