Great growth having only played the position for 1 year
Hits all the size measurables
Has a really good length
Can play all over and aligned everywhere at Arkansas
Is extremely traitsy and toolsy
Is a great athlete and is speedy
Has the athletic ability to chase down runners and the quarterback.
His athletic ability can make up for a lot of his shortcomings.
Is explosive and has an insane burst
He has a strong set of pass-rushing skills. You name the move he can do it
Has good eyes and keeps his eyes on the QB
When he does read correctly and anticipates he does so with urgency
Is height means he can get in throwing lanes and has got interceptions.
Shows patience to let the play develop before attacking his read
When he gets his arms around to tackle appropriately he tackles with brutal force.
Shows the ability to cover but still needs to develop. Currently, is a line of scrimmage player rather than a drop-into-coverage guy
WEAKNESSES
Has played very little linebacker because he converted this past year so needs a lot of development still
Needs to be more consistent against the run.
While he has good size he is tall so he could be asked to add weight
Needs to be able to covert his strength to shed blocks.
Improving his hand placement will help this
Needs to improve his ability to counter.
Has a lot of missed tackles. Needs to develop his technique to wrap his opponent up
Still needs to improve his IQ. in the run game he is more reactive and he needs to anticipate better
When coverage he needs to understand routes better. He has the athleticism to follow but it is just his IQ and understanding that needs to improve.
SUMMARY
Drew Sanders transferred from Alabama to Arkansas and came alive in the 2022 season. A pure edge at Alabama, he played as a linebacker for Arkansas which saw him have a breakout productive year. Sanders is an athletic, aggressive, violent linebacker who attacks the line of scrimmage. He has an array of pass-rushing moves which means he can get to the quarterback with ease while also flashing anticipation and vision. Having only transitioned to off-ball linebacker in 2022, Sanders still needs a lot of development, especially in his anticipation and football IQ. But, he has all the traits to be a success in the NFL and if someone can teach him he could be a stud in the future. He will just need some time to get there.
