Can Hogs' LB Drew Sanders Join This Elite List?

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Kent Smith | Last updated 2/6/23

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A single year of playing linebacker at Arkansas for Drew Sanders appears to have paid off big time.

The move thrust the All-American from obscure back-up to a projected No. 23 pick to the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming NFL draft according to ESPN.

"Another year with an early playoff exit despite regular-season dominance should have the Vikings back to the drawing board in terms of the roster build and what is needed to get over the hump. One area multiple NFL scouts have pointed to is the play and age at linebacker. Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks will play next season at 31, and only two teams allowed more yards per play (5.9) in 2022."
– Matt Miller, ESPN.com

After a lackluster career at Alabama, where he won a national championship as a special teams player in 2020 and then produced 24 tackles as a back-up, Sanders decided to test the waters in the transfer portal.

Once Arkansas lost a pair of 100+ tackle linebackers in Grant Morgan and Bumper Pool, Sanders saw an opportunity to play within easy driving distance of his Denton, Texas home on a team that could put him in the spotlight right away.

And that light shone bright.

Getting 100 tackles at the linebacker spot at Arkansas is almost a given, even when the Razorbacks were rolling three linebackers on the field instead of the two once Sanders arrived.

In back-to-back games against his former Alabama peers and Mississippi State, Sanders recorded 28 tackles, including a sack against the Tide. That was four more than Sanders recorded in seven games at linebacker the previous year in Tuscaloosa.

Sanders propelled himself up the scouting boards with 103 tackles and 9.5 sacks

If he is taken at No. 23 in the first round, it will put him just behind a rare class of Arkansas NFL draft picks who have gone No. 22 or higher.

This article first appeared on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: