2019 NFL Draft: Mack Wilson has more questions than answers

Former Alabama linebacker Mack Wilson suffered through a disappointing junior season and some subpar pre-draft workouts to raise questions about his NFL potential.

You could see it coming from his freshman and sophomore seasons. Alabama linebacker Mack Wilson was going to become a household name as a junior in 2018, spring-boarding that into a no-doubt first round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.

He flashed all the tools early in his career; he was instinctive, quick to the ball, and when he lowered his shoulder he hit with a fury hitherto undreamed of. His knockout blow on kick coverage of Texas A&M’s Speedy Noil in 2016 is still the loudest hit I’ve ever heard in person at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

2018 was his year to step into the limelight, moving into Alabama’s coveted Mike linebacker spot after playing second-fiddle to first round pick Rashaan Evans as a sophomore.

Unfortunately, Wilson didn’t show that growth that was expected, and it could be argued that he even regressed as a junior. The same instincts that made him a coveted prospect seemed to go away, maybe as a result of the added responsibility of calling the defense as a junior; he no longer had to just worry about what he was supposed to be doing, he had to also make sure everyone else was lined up properly too.

Wilson too often took poor angles to the ball, attempting to go for the homerun play in the backfield instead of being content with making a stop two or three yards down the field. That often led to busts, where runners would break loose into the secondary because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

His regression was a major reason Alabama’s defense slipped from its comfy perch atop college football, going from the traditionally great unit to merely a good one, and one that got absolutely torched by a high-powered Clemson offense in Santa Clara.

It’s unfair to put the blame solely on Wilson’s shoulders, but when you’re the middle linebacker and signal-caller of the defense, the fingers will inevitably point at you. His 71 total-tackles ranked fourth on the team, a number well below what you would expect a guy in his position to make.

Wilson himself was disappointed in his junior season as he failed to reach several of the lofty goals he set for himself.

His struggles as a junior carried over into a lackluster combine and Pro Day, calling into question Wilson’s status as a top prospect in the 2019 draft.

Strengths

Wilson will be drafted strictly on his upside, which remains high as he moves to the next chapter of his football career. The 6-foot 231-pound linebacker is a former five-star prospect coming out of Montgomery, Alabama, and while he is a bit slight when compared to your traditional middle linebacker, like both Devin White and Devin Bush, he represents the evolution of the position. Every team is moving more toward the smaller, quicker linebackers who can move sideline-to-sideline  and hold up in coverage to combat the growing infiltration of spread offenses.

Wilson’s coverage skills are probably his best trait, particularly in zone schemes. He’s very good at diagnosing pass plays, dropping into his zone and reading the eyes of the quarterback. He’s also got excellent ball skills, which were on display with his acrobatic interception against LSU in the fourth quarter last November. He has six career interceptions, an impressive number for a player at his position in the two years he saw significant playing time on defense.

He’s also still a thumper, and while he didn’t have many highlight-reel tackles last season, that hit strength that he displayed early in his career hasn’t just disappeared. If he can get downhill and hit a ball carrier square in the numbers, you can bet he’ll leave a mark.

Weaknesses

Wilson has to take better angles to the ball carriers and not sit back and wait for them to come to him. He wasn’t aggressive at all as a junior, something you never would have guessed after seeing his play-style the first two years of his career at Alabama.

He needs to be content with making the standard plays, and not focusing so much on making highlight packages and pulling still images that he can post to Instagram. Where was that hungry, aggressive player that popped on tape as a freshman and sophomore? Can he get back to that, or is that gone forever?

He also missed far too many tackles last season, particularly in one-on-one situations.

It might not be fair to call him lazy, but it’s also hard to ignore on tape when you watch him loaf to ball carriers instead of running full-speed to make tackles down the field. The Clemson game was potentially the most damning, and if NFL teams were judging him strictly off of one game, I’m not sure if he would be on many draft boards.

Draft Expectations

Nick Saban pleaded with Wilson to return for his senior season, something he successfully convinced others in his position such as Evans and Reuben Foster, to do. Both turned second-round grades into first round selections after strong final seasons at the Capstone. Wilson didn’t listen, instead taking the advice of his godfather and other in his circle to turn pro.

Say what you want about Saban, but he’s typically spot on with his draft assessments of his players, and he knew Wilson was unlikely to work his way into first round consideration. It’s also tough to blame Wilson on cashing in now, because he might not have been able to improve upon that stock with another year in Tuscaloosa. He also enters the draft fully healthy, something that might not have been the case with another year of free football.

Wilson looks to be the No. 3 linebacker on draft boards, but on a tier below both Devin White and Devin Bush. The first round looks like a longshot, as Wilson will almost certainly come off the board during the draft’s second day.

Projection: Second Round