Scouting Report: Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas

Ht: 6'4 Wt: 255 40: 4.66

Strengths: Great size and speed. Has long arms. Very athletic. Good awareness, is able to read screens and draws relatively well. He's extremely quick off the football. Shows good agility and recovery speed. Has very good closing speed for his size. Has a good three point stance. Possesses a good motor. Displays great upper body strength. Has the ability to bull rush lineman. Has a good spin move and rip move. Can run the arch. He uses his hands well and has a good initial punch. Takes appropriate angles. Excellent pass rusher. Underrated against the run. He's very versatile; he moved from linebacker to defensive end after Orakpo was drafted, so he has had good experience in a three point stance as well as playing linebacker. Fluid hips, is able to turn and run. Decent in coverage, needs to better recognize routes by receivers. 3-down linebacker in the NFL.

Weaknesses: He gets locked up with linemen a lot. Often tries to jump around linemen instead of consistently attacking. Needs to work on pursuing the quarterback under control. Could improve on his tackling technique; needs to learn to consistently break down to make the tackle instead of over-running the play. Served three game suspension in 2007 for a drunk driving charge, and ran his car into an apartment in 2009 because he was texting while driving. Mild injury history.

Summary: Sergio Kindle is one of the most athletic players in the 2010 NFL draft. He has great, prototypical size for a pass-rusher. He has long arms, good awareness and amazing closing speed. I love his ability to get after the quarterback. That is clearly his biggest strength. His versatility is something that I think will set him above other pass rushers in the draft. He has had good experience with his hand in the dirt as well as playing linebacker for the Longhorns. I see him best suited in the 3-4 rush OLB role, but I also see him as capable of playing in a 4-3 as well. He needs to improve on disengaging linemen consistently, and his overall tackling technique. He will need time to develop in those areas. His off the field issues are something that will hurt him too. His drunk driving charge is not something a team will shrug off; it raises legitimate concerns and draws red flags. However, based on his playing ability, I see him as a 1st round lock. He is an excellent pass-rusher, who is also good vs the run. I also projection him being a 3-down linebacker in the NFL. He needs improvement on some fundamentals, but I think his athletic ability will earn him a 1st round grade, despite his off the field concerns.

Draft Projection: 1st round