NFL Teams Missing One Key Factor About USC's Eric Gentry and His Potential

Following the 2025 college football season, the USC Trojans have several players who declared for the NFL Draft, but one player seems to be going a bit under the radar.

Eric Gentry’s Skill Set and Production

USC linebacker Eric Gentry has an opportunity to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, but as of now, he seems a bit undervalued in terms of what he has physically and the productivity he put on tape during his Trojan career.

NFL Teams Missing One Key Factor About USC Trojans Linebacker Eric Gentry 2026 NFL Draft Versatility Physicality Production — Oct 28, 2023; Berkeley, California, USA; USC Trojans linebacker Eric Gentry (18) gestures during the third quarter against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Over the course of his career, Gentry recorded 224 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, 12 pass breakups, 8 forced fumbles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick. Regardless of where NFL scouts look, Gentry produced in every area of the game.

Throughout his time with the Trojans, Gentry showed that he can be a very reliable tackler and bring the physicality required at the linebacker position. Gentry has great length, standing at 6-6, which allows him to get to extension and keep blockers off of him to make plays.

Gentry’s length also allowed him to be very disruptive in coverage, creating very tough throws for quarterbacks due to his range and ability to navigate multiple passing lanes and angles. In addition to getting deflections and interceptions, Gentry’s length and physicality allow him to punch the ball out, which resulted in eight forced fumbles in his college career.

With his frame at 6-6, Gentry has the physicality to match up with the taller receivers and tight ends, which gives more versatility for defensive coordinators in coverages and blitz packages.

Overall, Gentry is a unique prospect for the draft with his length and versatility being quite rare at the linebacker position, which could help his draft stock to rise.

Eric Gentry's NFL Potential

As far as his fit in the NFL, Gentry’s length is a great quality that many NFL teams would love to have because of the versatility that it creates all across the board.

Younger players in the NFL do have to find their way onto the field in creative ways, and for many, that can often be special teams. Gentry’s length gives him great value as a special teams player, specifically to block kicks off the edge or up the middle, which has the potential to completely change games.

On the defensive side, Gentry can play linebacker, which was his main position in college, but could also learn a combination of safety and corner in different situations. With his current weight at 225 pounds, Gentry is on the lighter side for stopping the run, but his versatility against the pass could counteract that negative.

In the NFL, offensive coordinators and play callers have continued to innovate with different formations and personnel groupings, which create problems for defensive coordinators trying to find answers.

With Gentry’s versatility to learn multiple positions, he could be a great value pick later in the draft for many NFL teams and find himself with a major role on an NFL roster when the season starts in 2026.

As of now, Gentry does seem to be a later-round prospect, but his versatility could be something that some NFL general managers feel the need to trade up for, with his potential to be a great contributor in an NFL defense.

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