Finding Broncos: Two Linebackers with Potential to Start
With the NFL moving to a more pass-heavy offensive skill set, having quality linebackers with high-end athleticism and coverage ability has become paramount for defenses across the league. Unfortunately, the Denver Broncos have lacked a player at that position that possesses the instincts in coverage ability combined with athletic prowess for several years now. Denver brought back tackling machine Alex Singleton, but they could still look to upgrade the position, especially in their depth.
Henry To’o To’o | LB | Alabama
Pros:
- He has excellent experience, with 40 starts and 3,199 snaps played.
- Assignment sound player that reads his keys very well.
- Attacks the ball carrier quickly and with a nice target area around the waist and knees.
- He is an above-average tackler with a lot of production, 256 tackles, and 100 assisted tackles in his career.
- He has decent pop and leverage when attacking blockers, escaping easily to keep himself in the play.
- Square pads when attacking the line of scrimmage and scraping through the trash.
- His lower half is smooth moving laterally with good flexibility.
- He rarely gets caught in a swath of blockers.
- His coverage instincts are up to standard, and he excels in zone coverage, where he can trust his eyes.
- Places himself in a great position due to his high football IQ and instincts.
Cons:
- Thinner build lacking upper body strength, but has a frame to add.
- Lacks the desired length for the position.
- He is an average athlete for the position especially given his size.
- Needs better technique against blockers to stack and shed.
- He can whiff in tight quarters as a tackler, with 60 missed tackles in his career and a missed tackle percentage of 14.4%.
- Change of direction in man coverage is lacking, presenting a problem against shifty running backs in space.
- Can be too patient at times to trigger coming downhill.
- Below average as a blitzer due to a lack of power to displace linemen at the point of attack.
Overview:
Henry To’o To’o is a heady and experienced linebacker that uses his high-level instincts to put him in the proper position to make plays. A decent mover that flows well laterally and shoots into gaps, To’o To’o projects as a starting-level linebacker that can man the MIKE linebacker position. While he lacks the power to be considered a thumper, To’o To’o does come with enough pop and proper pad placement to be an efficient tackler in run support.
In coverage, To’o To’o can get outrun at times due to a lack of overall athleticism, but he does an excellent job of receiving crossing routes and keeping up over the middle of the field. He drives to the flats well against running backs, but stiffness in his hips when changing directions can get him into trouble in man coverage. In zone coverage, To’o To’o reads the quarterback well and flows well enough to get into passing lanes and make tackles out in space.
Fit with the Broncos:
Henry To’o To’o fits with the Broncos as a downhill slashing linebacker that quickly attacks open gaps. While he needs to be quicker and more explosive, To’o To’o recognizes well and does an excellent job forcing himself into the play. While he may not be an opening-day starter for the Broncos due to the veteran presence of Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell, To’o To’o projects as a long-term answer for the linebacker room of any NFL roster. His high IQ will allow him to see the field early and often.
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Demarvion Overshown | LB | Texas
Pros:
- A speedy defender with sideline-to-sideline range.
- Closing speed against the run and as a blitzer is incredible.
- He does a nice job recognizing routes out in open space due to his experience playing at safety.
- Inside and outside versatility.
- Violent as a blitzer coming up the A gaps.
- He spent some time coming off the edge as a pass rusher, though not his best skill set.
- Fluid lower half that changes directions easily.
- Zone coverage is a plus, especially moving away from the ball and getting to depth.
- He has an urgent motor that runs hot all the time.
- He tracks down ball carriers down the field constantly and arrives with violence.
Cons:
- Still relatively new to the position and needs to get better at recognizing and diagnosing.
- He lacks bulk in his frame, leading to power issues when taking on blocks.
- His block deconstruction technique is severely lacking.
- Struggles against two-way go routes coming out of the backfield.
- He can get slightly too aggressive, chasing down ball carriers and blowing up his teammates.
- Overall functional strength is lacking.
- His target area as a tackler is too high, leading to several missed tackles in open space.
- Too many false steps early in the rep sometimes lead to showing up late to the party.
Overview:
Demarvion Overshown is a raw but athletic linebacker with incredible upside as a coverage defender. While he may be better as a see-and-chase player at this point, Overshown has the top-flight speed he needs to keep himself in the play at all times. He shows enough coverage versatility to be a three-level defender, though his instincts in coverage need to develop further.
Overshown was deployed in various alignments, including in the slot and coming off the edge as a pass rusher. He shows a certain level of violence that you like to see for a thinner player and is incredibly effective in displacing a lineman when he has a full head of steam coming downhill. However, an overall lack of power and technique as a run defender leads him to be moved off the spot relatively easily. He has a thin frame but has enough length throughout his body to add solid muscle mass to help improve his play strength and power.
Fit with the Broncos:
The Broncos have needed a speedy coverage linebacker for what seems like a decade, so Overshown fits the bill immediately. However, there is an overall lack of instinctual football to his game, so depending on him as an opening-day starter at the position is probably a bad idea.
He will need to add bulk to his frame to keep up as a run defender at the NFL level, but a year in an NFL weight room should fix that issue rather quickly. Overshown took a big step forward from 2021 to 2022, so projecting his long-term growth into a solid starting quality linebacker is rather easy to do.
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