Biography: Four-year starter awarded All-conference honors the past two years. Led Arkansas in tackles since his freshman season. Totals last year included 101 tackles/10 tackles for loss/.5 sacks with four pass breakups. Junior numbers included 100 tackles and 13 tackles for loss.

Positives: Athletic linebacker who displays skill in the open field. Plays with good awareness and covers a large area on the field. Flows well to the action, gets outside the box to make plays and has a burst of speed bearing down on the action. Effectively uses his hands to protect himself, remains disciplined with assignments and gets depth on pass drops. Fires up the field defending the run and gives effort to defeat blocks.

Negatives: More of a drag-down tackler than a linebacker who stops ballcarriers in their tracks. Average skill in pursuit despite his 40 time.

Analysis: Franklin is a well-rounded linebacker with NFL-type physical skills. He could play a number of positions and could be an invaluable backup with the potential to eventually develop into a starter.

Projection: 7th