Curtis Lofton LB 6' 246 Oklahoma 4.78

Lofton did not make many plays as a freshman, playing mostly on special teams in 2005. As a sophomore he displayed some potential inside, finishing the year with 32 tackles, six for a loss. Lofton blew up as a junior, earning All America honors and was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year. He had 157 tackles, 10.5 for loss, a sack and three interceptions.

Lofton is built like a tank. He is strong and thick, and has the ability to plug running lanes between the tackles. He can get off a block and make the tackle. He has excellent instincts, quickly diagnosing the action and wasting no steps flowing to the action. Lofton shows the speed to play sideline to sideline, and is very aggressive attacking the line of scrimmage.

Lofton lacks the athleticism and long range speed to be a real factor in pass coverage. He has the instincts and shows the ability to play in space, but he will not be able to cover one on one down the field, or chase players down in coverage.

Lofton is a little short for the linebacker position, but he is an excellent inside linebacker. His instincts and ability to stop the run will allow him to play early in the NFL. His height shouldn’t effect his game and even though he may not be a great coverage linebacker his awareness always puts him near the action. He should be gone by the end of the second round.