A pair of Utah linebackers are headed to the NFL combine in Indianapolis with an opportunity to enhance their stock heading into the 2022 NFL draft.
Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell, who helped lead the Utes to a Pac-12 championship and appearance in the Rose Bowl, will be among the 324 top college prospects at the combine March 1-7 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Few know the linebacker position better than coach Kyle Whittingham, who was a standout linebacker at BYU.
Lloyd has been projected as a first-round pick when the draft is held April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
“I see exactly what the NFL looks for in linebackers. He’s got the size, the speed, the explosion, the athleticism, the intelligence — everything you see in those elite linebackers in the NFL, Devin possesses them.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“I see exactly what the NFL looks for in linebackers,” Whittingham said last fall. “He’s got the size, the speed, the explosion, the athleticism, the intelligence — everything you see in those elite linebackers in the NFL, Devin possesses them.”
Added Whittingham: “Devin is a special football player. He’s the best defender that’s ever come through the University of Utah, at least in the modern era. He’s going to be, most likely, the highest drafted defensive player that we’ve had.”
A few weeks ago, ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. released a 2022 mock draft with Lloyd being selected No. 15 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“All this kid does is make plays in every way on defense. He’s intercepting passes, he’s batting down passes, he’s breaking up passes, he’s getting after the quarterback and getting sacks,” Kiper said during a recent podcast. “He’s intercepting passes and returning them for touchdowns. He’s everywhere.”
In his mock draft, NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah projected Lloyd as the No. 7 overall pick of the New York Giants.
“Lloyd is a fun player to study. He flies around the field and makes a bunch of plays on the ball,” Jeremiah wrote. “His intangibles are off the charts. I could see the 2021 Pac-12 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year emerge as a key leader for the Giants’ defense.”
In program history, Utah has had 13 linebackers taken in the draft. The Utes’ highest defensive pick was Star Lotulelei, who was taken No. 14 overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2013.
Lloyd recorded 43 career tackles for loss at Utah, ranking fourth in program history, and he had 10 career All-America honors. He was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection and a two-time Butkus Award finalist.
“He plays within the structure and framework of the defense. But we utilize him in a lot of different ways. You saw us bring him off the edge quite a bit so far this season,” Whittingham said. “He’s got great size. He runs like a deer. He’s instinctive, he’s got a long wingspan and you see him tip balls quite often, particularly in pass rush.
“He’s a playmaker. He’s a guy that when there’s a play to be made, he almost always makes it. He’s an absolute football junkie and student of the game. He watches as much film during the course of a week as anybody we’ve ever had here.”
Sewell, a converted safety, was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and had five career double-digit tackle games for the Utes. Last season, he ranked second on Utah’s defense with 89 tackles, including 7.5 tackles-for-loss.
“He’s an absolute baller. He’s starting to get more attention as he deserves,” Lloyd said of Sewell. “But he’s so instinctual and so smart. He’s just a flat-out baller. He deserves all the credit in the world for the plays that he makes.”
“Nephi has exceptional quickness. That’s really the strength of his game — his quickness and his lateral movement,” Whittingham said. “He’s also a physical player that can hit you and deliver a blow.”
A couple of months ago, former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal had high praise for both Sewell and Lloyd.
“Nephi has exceptional quickness. That’s really the strength of his game — his quickness and his lateral movement. He’s also a physical player that can hit you and deliver a blow.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“They’re very instinctive players and they get downhill in a hurry. They diagnose quickly. You can tell that they spend tons of time in the film room. It doesn’t take them long to figure out what an offense is doing,” he said. “They get it and when they get there, they get there with the right type of disposition.
“They’re knock-back tacklers. Obviously, we’re very familiar with the Sewell family. Devin Lloyd is a guy that with his length and his range, again, just an excellent football player as well as Nephi Sewell. Both those guys, they just do so much for them not only as linebackers but also in the blitz game and also just as pass rushers with the way that they use Lloyd. He’s just a really, really good football player.”
The NFL combine will be televised on NFL Network.