Grading System

JONATHAN VILMA

Position: ILB Class: Sr School: Miami (FL) Conference: Big East Ht., Wt.: 6'0½, 233 40 Time: 4.58 Grade: 4.39 Selected by New York Jets Round 1, pick 12 (12 overall)

BIO: Three-year starter who has led the Hurricanes in tackles since his sophomore campaign. Posted numbers of 127/12/1 as a senior after 133/13/2 during his junior campaign. Academic All American choice the past two seasons. POSITIVES: Outstanding competitor who translates his classroom intelligence onto the football field. Immediately diagnoses the action and seemingly has a sixth sense anticipating what the offense will do. Fires up the field in run defense, slides off blocks and immediately finds the ball carrier. Consistently lays it on the line, flying around the football. Gets depth on pass drops and covers well between the hashes. Leader of the defense who plays hard even if the outcome of a contest has been decided. NEGATIVES: Undersized and occasionally slowed moving through the traffic. Gets hyped up and over-pursues the action. Has only a short area burst of speed. ANALYSIS: Though not as explosive as many of his Miami predecessors, Vilma makes up for it with rare football intuition. A leader by example, he excels in all areas on and off the field. Does not have the top size-speed numbers that warrant a top-10 pick, but considering his intangibles, Vilma is a prospect that will quickly produce as a rookie. PROJECTION: Mid First Round Photo: Brian Bahr/Getty Images