James Laurinaitis SELECTED BY: Rams Round 2 (3)

SI Grade 4.03 GRADING SYSTEM

BIOGRAPHY: Three-year starter awarded all-Conference and All-America honors since his sophomore campaign and Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year in '08. Led the team in tackles as a senior, posting 130/7/4 when he intercepted two passes and broke up four more. Awarded the 2008 Lott Trophy as college football's impact player of the year. Junior totals included 121/8.5/5 when he was named the Butkus Award winner. Named the Nagurski Award winner as a sophomore as the nation's best defensive player after totals of 115/8.5/4 with five interceptions.

POSITIVES: Reliable, aggressive linebacker solid in all aspects of the game. Displays good awareness, plays disciplined football, and flies around the field. Breaks down well, effectively uses his hands to protect himself, and rarely off his feet. Explodes up the field filling gaps in run defense, scrapes well laterally, and attacks ball carriers. Slides off blocks and nicely flows to the action. Gets depth on pass drops, fluid turning his hips to run with tight ends, and shows speed moving in every direction of the field. For the most part, plays smart football and runs sideline-to-sideline.

NEGATIVES: Does not always take proper angles to the action, and at times plays out of control. Lacks force up the field on the blitz.

ANALYSIS: Laurinaitis has been a super-productive linebacker, and he projects well to the next level. He has the ability to be used at several linebacker positions in a number of defensive schemes, yet he is by no means an impact defender who forces the action or creates a lot of opportunities for his team. His playing skills on the field fall short of his reputation off it, and although Laurinaitis will be a good player in the NFL, he grades out as a late first-round pick.

PROJECTION: First Round