Drew Sanders, LB Arkansas: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Sanders was a five-star recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2020

Arkansas junior linebacker Drew Sanders made the right decision to transfer from Alabama. His athletic upside makes him a potential top-50 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Drew Sanders, LB Arkansas: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior linebacker from Denton, Texas

Background: Sanders was a five-star recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2020. He was the No. 22 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 37 (four-star) for Rivals, and No. 27 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 36th (four-star) in the nation with an 86 grade out of 100. Sanders originally committed to Oklahoma before flipping to Alabama. He transferred from Alabama to Arkansas ahead of the 2022 season. Sanders was the 2018 SportsDayHS Utility Player of the Year after completing eight of nine pass attempts for four touchdowns and rushing for 280 yards and 13 touchdowns on offense while amassing 119 tackles, including ten for loss with eight sacks, three interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. He ran for 326 yards and ten touchdowns in 2019 while catching 34 passes for 717 yards and two additional touchdowns. Sanders was selected for the Under Armour All-America Game. He began his college career at Alabama playing along the defensive front as a pass rusher.

Injuries & Off-Field: Required surgery for a hand injury in 2021 which severely limited his availability

Awards: 2022 First-Team All-SEC, 2022 First-Team All-American

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, field goal, and field goal block units, offers versatility as a 3-4 outside linebacker, age, explosive athlete, frame can add mass, limited to no lower body tightness, impressive acceleration and burst, sideline-to-sideline range, pursuit speed and range, nice bend and lower body looseness, athleticism to spy quarterbacks, active and springy feet, fires downhill with excellent speed, slippery to escape blocks and make tackles, active hands help him shed or disengage from blocks, agility to duck around climbing linemen, frequently slips or bounces off blocks, uses his speed and gets skinny to shoot gaps, showcases agility and active hands as a pass rusher, swim move, reads the quarterback’s eyes, speed and athleticism to carry tight ends up the seam or running backs on wheel routes

Cons: Arm length, extremely lean, a little high-hipped, lacks the power to play through offensive linemen, driven out of plays by climbing linemen, minimal contact throws off his run fits and blitz, caught up in the wash, flows with eye candy, sucked downhill by play action and RPOs, sometimes puts too much faith in his speed and takes poor angles, overruns plays opening cutback lanes, run fits are hit-or-miss, can be wild and undisciplined when approaching tackle attempts, fails to finish tackles, slides or falls off tackles, coverage is a little loose in zone, often unaware of receivers passing behind him in zone, doesn’t thump tight ends or receivers entering his space, a second late to react in zone coverage, not frequently asked to carry pass catchers vertically, coverage instincts are underdeveloped

Overview: Sanders took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6041 and weighs 235 lbs. He has 9 6/8-inch hands, 32 1/8-inch arms, and a 76 5/8-inch wingspan. Sanders has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, field goal, and field goal block units. Sanders is a young prospect who lacks the density and power to play 3-4 outside linebacker, but he could develop into that role later in his career. For now, he’s an explosive off-ball linebacker with limited to no lower body tightness and room to add muscle mass. Sander’s acceleration and burst pop off the screen. He has sideline-to-sideline range and elite pursuit speed. The former Alabama defender has nice bend and lower body looseness. His athleticism is perfect for spying modern mobile quarterbacks. Sander’s feet are active and springy. He fires downhill with excellent speed. Sanders is a slippery defender who escapes blocks with his agility and active hands. He can’t play through linemen and struggles in true stack-and-shed situations, but he’s excellent at playing around linemen. The former five-star recruit uses his speed and gets skinny to shoot gaps. He showcases agility, active hands, and a swim move as a pass rusher. Sanders reads the quarterback’s eyes in coverage and has the speed and athleticism to carry tight ends up the seam or running backs on wheel routes. However, the junior lacks ideal arm length and is high-hipped. He is driven out of plays by climbing linemen and disrupted by minimal contact. Sanders gets caught up in the wash on run plays. He falls for eye candy and is sucked out of position. He puts too much faith in his speed and runs himself out of plays with poor angles. His run fits are hit-or-miss. The Texas native is wild and undisciplined when approaching tackle attempts and frequently slides off tackles. His coverage is a little loose in zone, and he’s often unaware of action happening behind him. Sanders is still developing his instincts in coverage as he’s late to react in zone. He doesn’t reroute pass catchers that enter his space.

Overall, Sanders is one of the most dynamic and explosive athletes in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he lacks the play strength to battle through contact consistently. He could start his pro career as a defensive chess piece at the second level before transitioning into more of a traditional MIKE role as he adjusts to the league.

Role & Scheme Fit: Weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme or developmental 4-3 MIKE

Round Projection: Second Round

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-15-23