6th round: LB Shaquille Quarterman, Miami
Quarterman is an old-school type of linebacker. He puts everything into tackles and can make a ball carrier disappear when he tackles, putting them on the ground from one frame of game film to the next. He’s also capable of using his size to fill gaps in run support, causing plays to stretch out, even if he isn’t the guy making the tackle
However, he can be a little slow to diagnose plays, often running in circles where he’s trying to figure out where the ball is going and what he should be doing. For a guy of his size — 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds — he gets caught up in the mess a little too often for my liking and will need to learn how to better shed blockers to be effective consistently in run support. Quarterman shouldn’t be trusted in coverage at all. He’s really stiff and without the speed to keep up or burst to make up ground, he’s going to be picked on in both man and zone coverages.
Quarterman is a developmental project in the sixth round with really limited upside. He has the size and tackling ability to project into a rotational linebacker in run defense but that’s about it.