The Houston Texans have an issue with the performance of their linebackers in pass coverage. The Texans desperately need to find a linebacker who can cover in today’s NFL. With the 2020 NFL Draft a little over two months away, here are a few linebackers that fit this mold. Keep in mind, the Texans don’t have a first-round pick, and won’t have a chance to address the issue until No. 57th overall in the second round.
Akeem Davis-Gaither, Appalachian State
The Draft Network is pretty high on Davis-Gaither’s athleticism and length:
Akeem has very good reactive athleticism for the position. He shows his versatility by aligning as a stacked backer, as an OLB in an odd front scheme, walked out over a WR in sub packages and even aligned in the box. He’s an undersized LB but is extremely physical, contact seeking LB against the run. He has good length and very good lateraled agility for the position. Easily gets through trash and to the football in the run game. He’s a contact seeker and shows good explosion in his hips as a tackler. He also has good coverage upside on RBs and TE’s. Has excellent range for the Linebacker position. His skill set suggests he is ideally suited to play WLB in an even front scheme and projects to be a core special teamer, as well.
Davis-Gaither might be one of the most athletically gifted linebackers in this year’s draft. He also had the stats to back up his playing tallying 101 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one interception, and eight passes defensed during his junior year. He would be a great fit with Zach Cunningham and even Benardrick McKinney to provide some versatility at the ILB position.