Stephone Anthony Could Be the 2015 NFL Draft's Surprise First-Round Pick
In a draft class that does not include a top-tier prospect at the inside linebacker position, Clemson’s Stephone Anthony is soaring up draft projections after an eye-opening performance at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday.
Among the off-ball linebackers who participated in this year’s event, Anthony was the standout.
At 6’3” and 243 pounds, Anthony ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash, the third-fastest time among all defensive front-seven players at the prospect's gathering in Indianapolis. He ranked within the top 10 in every on-field measurable drill in which he participated and also showed athletic fluidity when the linebackers ran through a positional workout.
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| 40-Yard Dash | Bench | Vertical Jump | Broad Jump | 3-Cone | 20-Yard Shuttle |
| 4.56 seconds | 23 reps | 37" | 10'2" | 7.07 seconds | 4.03 seconds |
Anthony has had a productive collegiate career with 255 total tackles and 35 tackles for loss but was primarily viewed as a between-the-tackles run-stopper with limited range and upside.
The pre-draft process has changed that perception. In addition to his spectacular display of athleticism at the combine, Anthony also showed to sideline-to-sideline range and coverage ability at the Senior Bowl, where he was named by a panel of NFL scouts as the game’s top practice performer among linebackers.
There is no guarantee that the unexpected agility Anthony showed at glorified practices and the Underwear Olympics will translate to NFL games. But although his dexterity was not always apparent at Clemson, Anthony was already an underrated player whose production went overlooked by draft analysts for too long.
Thanks to the combine, Anthony is finally garnering widespread media attention. He already had notoriety among NFL teams, however, according to NEPatriotsDraft.com’s Mike Loyko:
As well as Anthony performed on the field Sunday, he might have helped himself even more by talking to teams in the interview room.
Anthony had official meetings with exactly half of the NFL’s teams at the combine, according to DraftInsider.net’s Tony Pauline.
Pauline also noted that Anthony has emerged as a favorite prospect of Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Given the Packers’ major need at the inside linebacker position, which was amplified by their release of A.J. Hawk on Wednesday, there’s reason to believe Anthony could be in play for their No. 30 overall pick.
That’s where NFL Network’s Charles Davis projected Anthony to be selected in a mock draft released earlier this week.
Bleacher Report’s Jeff Risdon, who also writes for RealGM.com, believes that Anthony could come off the board even earlier. In his own recent mock draft published at RealGM earlier this week, Risdon mocked Anthony to the Arizona Cardinals as the 24th overall selection.
“This is going to be higher than you see Anthony elsewhere, but it’s not without reason,” Risdon wrote. “Scouts are a lot higher on the long, savvy Anthony than the general public.”
Why Anthony Could Be the Best Inside Linebacker in the Draft
There are other inside linebacker prospects who could factor into the first-round equation—UCLA’s Eric Kendricks, Miami’s Denzel Perryman, TCU’s Paul Dawson and Mississippi State’s Benardrick McKinney—but Anthony arguably has the most complete skill set among them.
A strong, thickly built linebacker with a explosive downhill burst, Anthony is one of the two best in-the-box run-stoppers at the position in this year’s draft. Perryman is even better than Anthony between the hashes, but the combine indicated that Anthony is a better athlete than Perryman, who had a 40 time of just 4.78 seconds at 5’11” and 236 pounds.
Kendricks and Dawson were more productive than Anthony in college, especially this past season, but both are smaller, and Dawson also tested poorly in Indianapolis.
Entering a league that typically values traits more than production in its draft decisions, Anthony has probably vaulted Dawson and could move ahead of Kendricks in the draft order.
McKinney arguably has the most potential and versatility among linebackers in this year’s draft; a good athlete at 6’4” and 246 pounds, McKinney has experience playing both inside and outside. However, his production at Mississippi State was underwhelming in comparison to that of Anthony and the other top linebackers available this year.
As aforementioned, Anthony fits the profile of a downhill thumper in the middle of an NFL defense. He is ideally suited to play in the inside linebacker tandem of a 3-4 defense—which would be the case if he was drafted by the Packers or Cardinals—but could also fit as a 4-3 middle linebacker.
Anthony is a sound tackler who regularly stops opponents in their tracks. He uses proper form to wrap up his opponents and possesses the strength to drive them to the ground. When he recognizes where a play is going, he can close on a runner quickly and make a big play.
There is no question that Anthony should be able to play immediately and be productive against the run, but that does not necessarily mean he will be a sideline-to-sideline playmaker right off the bat, even with his athleticism.
As Joe Goodberry of CincyJungle.com demonstrated with the following clip, Anthony can suffer from missteps and does not have enough change-of-direction quickness and pursuit speed to consistently recover.
The biggest concern with Anthony’s game should be that he has subpar instincts, as the clip above demonstrates.
That can be a tough area to improve for a linebacker and will be exposed more regularly by faster opponents at the next level. Nonetheless, there will likely be a team that banks on his skill set and athletic potential early in the draft, knowing that if Anthony can improve his instincts, he can be a regular difference-maker against the run.
The other area of concern with Anthony is whether he will be able to make a regular impact on pass defense. He did not frequently have deep coverage responsibilities at Clemson and does not show much ability to work his way off blockers as a pass-rusher.
That said, he has typically held his own in man coverage against tight ends, while his explosiveness as a blitzer enables him to bring some pressures against quarterbacks.
He was often very effective when used as a quarterback spy on Clemson’s defense and occasionally made some big plays in pass defense. In addition to his game-sealing interception in Clemson’s Orange Bowl win against Ohio State following the 2013 season, he made a one-handed pick against Syracuse this past season.
Should Anthony continue to develop with NFL coaching, his athletic traits suggest that he should be able to be a three-down linebacker at the next level.
If you want to watch Anthony yourself to get a feel for what he can bring to an NFL defense but only have time to watch one game, make it this past season's game against Florida State. You can watch his plays from that game in the following video courtesy of Draft Breakdown, where you can also watch some of Anthony’s other games from 2014 and 2013.
In that game, against one of the most talented teams in the country, Anthony had one of the best performances of his career, recording eight total tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and one pass breakup.
His excellent performance in that game was at a higher level than most of the games in his career, but it—along with his Senior Bowl and combine showings—put his upside on full display.
If Anthony can continue to build on his positive performances, it’s easy to see how he could be a great inside linebacker and worth a first-round pick.
Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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