2012 NFL Draft middle linebacker rankings: A flawed Vontaze Burfict leads top-heavy class

by Dan Kadar on Sep 16, 2011 10:29 PM EDT in 2012 NFL Draft

It's still early in the college football season, but now is as good of a time as any to update individual position rankings for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict could be a transcendent player at the position, but he's greatly flawed. Everyone is aware of his penchant for personal fouls, but his tackle technique is inconsistent. If he can put it all together mentally, he's clearly above everyone else. For now, he's just ahead of Notre Dame's Manti Te'o and Boston College's Luke Kuechly.

Note: The position rankings aren't currently in line with the site's top 200. After each position ranking is released, a new top 200 will be published.

1. Vontaze Burfict | 6'3, 245 pounds | MLB | Arizona State * - Prospect notes | Profile

2. Manti Te'o | 6'2, 245 pounds | MLB | Notre Dame * - Prospect notes

3. Luke Kuechly | 6'2, 235 pounds | MLB | Boston College * - Prospect notes

4. Dont'a Hightower | 6'4, 258 pounds | MLB | Alabama * - Prospect notes

5. Shayne Skov | 6'3, 243 pounds | MLB | Stanford * - Prospect notes

6. James-Michael Johnson | 6'2, 240 pounds | MLB | Nevada

7. Audie Cole | 6'4, 239 pounds | MLB | North Carolina State

8. Bobby Wagner | 6'0, 232 pounds | MLB | Utah State

9. Kevin Reddick | 6'3, 240 pounds | MLB | North Carolina *

10. Emmanuel Acho | 6'2, 245 pounds | MLB | Texas

11. Brandon Maye | 6'3, 230 pounds | MLB | Mississippi State

12. Michael Mauti | 6'2, 234 pounds | MLB | Penn State *

13. Chris Galippo | 6'2, 250 pounds | MLB | Southern California

14. Jerry Franklin | 6'1, 241 pounds | MLB | Arkansas

15. Garrick Williams | 6'2, 234 pounds | MLB | Texas A&M

16. Chris Marve | 6'0, 230 pounds | MLB | Vanderbilt

* denotes underclassman

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I would love to have Burfict on the Eagles

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by The Legend on Sep 16, 2011 10:46 PM EDT reply actions

I'd love to see him on the Jets. Replace Bart Scott in a year or two.

Whew, he’d have fun with Rex Ryan.

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by Noble_Lance on Sep 17, 2011 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Juan Castillo and Burfict would be a match made in heaven. Both are mean and crazy. Castillo head-butt Keenan Clayton (with his helmet on) and runs around like a mad man. Burfict just annihilates people when he wants to (thats key). The combination of coach and player with Castillo and Burfict would be dangerous for opposing teams.

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by d-jackfan10 on Sep 17, 2011 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Me too.

I’d be absolutely ecstatic if Philly drafted him

by KevinEagles on Sep 26, 2011 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Nico Johnson? He splits snaps at Alabama because they’re so talented but he’ll start for an NFL team, in particular a 3-4 team. He isn’t the explosive hitter that Hightower is but he is a good tackler who has great strength and more than holds his own at the point of attack and discarding blockers. Plus he has a fantastic frame at 6’3" and 245 pounds. He’ll find a starting spot in the NFL one day from what I’ve seen. He’s just had to deal with playing alongside Rolando McClain, Dont’a Hightower and now CJ Mosley.

Then again, he is just a junior.

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by d-jackfan10 on Sep 17, 2011 3:10 AM EDT reply actions

After the Missouri game

I’m not sure how anybody can still have Burfict pegged as a first rounder. Overreacting to just one game is the scouting world is nonsense, but in watching that game alone, I thought Burfict looked no better than a 6th round draft pick. He was slow, out of position, getting thrown all over the field by blockers, missing tackles, and looked gassed in the 1st quarter.

by RediculousAM on Sep 17, 2011 6:49 AM EDT reply actions

that's a big time overreaction

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by Rorschach44 on Sep 17, 2011 8:29 AM EDT up reply actions

I get what Red is saying, but I’m not willing to go that far with it.

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by Dan Kadar on Sep 17, 2011 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions

I haven't seen a whole lot of Burfict except the Mizzou game as well

So I have a very small sample size, but I would agree. Dude didn’t look like much. Obviously, I will need to watch him more to have a real opinion on him. But as far as first impressions go, meh.

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by TexasGarcia37 on Sep 17, 2011 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

As a whole, yes he's a better prospect

But I did say it was based on that game alone. Like TexasGarcia below, if somebody hadn’t watched him before, they probably don’t know what all the hype is about.

I’ll make sure to watch at least two more ASU games at full length to get an idea where he’s at as a prospect, but he’s got some ground to make up.

by RediculousAM on Sep 17, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

I still like Te'o the best

there’s only so much he can do on that defense. ND recruits all these great HS players but they can never make a good defense out of them, but Te’o always stands out.

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by Rorschach44 on Sep 17, 2011 8:31 AM EDT reply actions

You about summed him up perfectly with the first sentence.

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by Dan Kadar on Sep 17, 2011 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

I hope these flaws do come out of Burfict so he can drop to the Ravens. He will be nasty flying around behind Ngata and Cody. Baltimore would be one of the best places for him to maximize his talent.

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by AV23 on Sep 17, 2011 12:04 PM EDT reply actions