HIGH ABOVE THE UPPER MIDWEST -- Earlier this month, we took a sneak peek at Mel Kiper's top five inside/middle linebackers in the 2013 draft. On the occasion of the Chicago Bears' decision to move on without Brian Urlacher, and with the Minnesota Vikings also in search of a new starter at the position, I figured I would revisit Kiper's ranking for those who didn't think it would be as relevant as it has become:
Notre Dame's Manti Te'o
Georgia's Alec Ogletree
LSU's Kevin Minter
Florida's Jonathan Bostic
North Carolina's Kevin Reddick
(Insider subscribers can see the full Kiper analysis here.
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On Twitter, many of you are asking about Kansas State's Arthur Brown. Obviously, Kiper doesn't rank him among his top five. Scouts Inc. rates him in its top 10 inside/middle linebackers and projects him as a second-round draft pick.
We discussed Te'o at the scouting combine, noting his smooth performance in a media setting but a disappointing workout. I left the combine under the assumption that Ogletree is the best player at this position in the draft, but his value has been affected by several off-field incidents in the past year, most recently a drunken-driving arrest.