Kansas State:
LB #4 Arthur Brown: There has been a very good recent influx of speedy, instinctive, smallish linebackers into the NFL the past few seasons. Arthur Brown is poised to be the next in the line of Lavonte David, Zach Brown, and Bobby Wagner. He looks small at 6’0” and maybe 228 pounds, but he does not lack pop with his hits. Watch how innately he anticipates the play and attacks under control; he almost never takes himself out of position. Brown has enough speed to cover, and he shows a good closing burst. The biggest knock is his inability to shed blocks, but like David in Tampa this year, Brown does a very good job of keeping himself clean. He might be the most instinctive linebacker in this draft and would certainly be a consideration for Detroit at the top of the 2nd round. He primarily plays outside for the Wildcats but might project better inside at the next level, depending on scheme.
WR #3 Chris Harper: Harper fills the role that Jordy Nelson occupied in the offense and he is a reasonable facsimile. While not as big or quite as explosively fast as Nelson, Harper is a good athlete with excellent hands. His footwork is advanced for a collegiate receiver, and he adds to his value by being an exceptional edge and downfield blocker. Because he’s only average sized and not a blazing speedster, Harper could be available for the Lions with their 5th round pick. They could do worse.
LB #42 Meshak Williams: He is more of an undersized 3-4 OLB than anything else, but he showed continual improvement over his college career and has good length and upper body strength. Watch how he handles edge containment against Oregon’s mobile QB and read option packages. Williams has been better as an attack dog than a read-and-react player, with limited lateral agility. He has very good power for a man his size (6’3”, 245) and could bring some late-round upside to the Lions as a situational rusher.
QB #7 Collin Klein: I mention Klein here because the Lions were inexplicably attracted to Kellen Moore as a sort of lifetime achievement collegian even though he clearly lacked viable NFL attributes. I actually prefer Klein as a QB to Moore, as he does have legit arm strength, size (6’5”, 230) and excellent mobility. But his accuracy and mechanics are Tebow-esque, and his NFL future is likely akin to Tebow should he embrace it, a Wildcat (love the symmetry here) package and red zone threat who can play some fullback and even tight end well enough to impact the defense.
CB #24 Nigel Malone: Malone is a ballhawk with average size at 5’10”, but he compensates with good timing and excellent leaping ability. He led the Big 12 in INTs in 2011 with 7, and he picked off another 5 this year. His lack of long speed and relative apathy in attacking the run will water down his stock to the late rounds. His play echoes Alphonso Smith somewhat, though not as quick.
