Big Pro Day Puts Denzel Perryman in Conversation for 2015 NFL Draft's Top ILB

They might not get the fat paychecks of their pass-rushing brethren on the outside, but as Luke Kuechly showed in winning Defensive Player of the Year honors two seasons ago, "tackle vacuum" linebackers still have plenty of value in the NFL.

In that regard, the waters are muddy in this year's NFL draft. This isn't to say that there aren't any talented options for teams looking for inside linebacker help, but none of these youngsters have really separated themselves from the pack.

On Wednesday, Miami's Denzel Perryman got his turn to state his case when the Hurricanes held their pro day. And the 5'11" 236-pounder didn't disappoint.

The day started off with players hitting the weights, and as ESPN's James Walker pointed out, Perryman opened more than a few eyes with a phenomenal 30-rep showing:

Of course, that really shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Strength and power weren't really concerns with Perryman, who tallied over 350 career tackles in Miami. In fact, as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote, Perryman is a prototypical "MIKE" linebacker in many respects:

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Burly, stout, old-school linebacker build. Wants to hit and brings his pads with him when he delivers a blow. Delivers a jarring punch into oncoming offensive linemen on second level. Defends his area of turf and sees past blockers, keeping his eye trained on the play. Is able to disengage and shed blockers. Plays low and with leverage. Once he diagnoses, can trigger into gaps and disrupt. Expected to be productive special-teams player at the next level.

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At least one AFC scout echoed those sentiments to Zierlein, while adding a very important caveat:

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He's physical and plays angry at the point of attack. He's the type of guy you like having on your team because he brings toughness to practice. He's going to lay the wood to ball carriers when he gets a chance but college teams were already finding ways to go after him in the passing game.

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Those concerns about Perryman's abilities in coverage, as well as concerns with his overall speed, were amplified when he ran a disappointing 4.78-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in February. They also ramped up the pressure on Perryman to better that time on Wednesday.

In that respect, Miami's pro day was a bit of a mixed bag for Perryman.

According to Walker, Perryman ran a 4.56 40 on his first attempt Wednesday. Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, on the other hand, tweeted that the time was a fair bit slower:

It was also Perryman's only attempt. On the second, his hamstring locked up, and just like that, Perryman's pro day was over.

Perryman told Walker that, despite the abrupt ending, he was pleased with how his pro day unfolded. "Yeah, it's real disappointing," Perryman said of the injury. "But a lot of people just wanted to see what I can run, and I feel I accomplished that today and answered a lot of questions."

Given that Perryman wasn't really able to answer the biggest of those questions, it's fair to wonder why he (or I) feels that Wednesday was a good day for his prospects come the NFL draft at the end of the month.

However, Perryman was at least able to improve his 40 time a bit, and the fact remains that Perryman is hardly alone as an inside linebacker prospect with some concerns. There isn't a player at the position in the 2015 draft class who doesn't have at least one significant question mark looming over him.

Rank	Player	School	Proj. Round
1.	Eric Kendricks	UCLA	1-2
2.	Bernardrick McKinney	Mississippi State	2
3.	Stephone Anthony	Clemson	2
4.	Paul Dawson	TCU	2-3
5.	Denzel Perryman	Miami	3

Eric Kendricks of UCLA is wildly athletic, but he is prone to playing "out of control" at times (much like his older brother, Mychal, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles). Paul Dawson of TCU was highly productive in college but has been abysmal in workouts this spring.

If you're looking for a slam dunk, keep looking.

With that said, though, Perryman's bench-press numbers display an impressive amount of upper-body strength. It's a trait that comes in handy when a player is fighting off blockers, and one that Perryman displayed time and again during his time in Coral Gables.

It's also a trait that already has NFL teams buying Perryman dinner:

At the end of the day, nothing Perryman did Wednesday was going to completely alleviate concerns about his straight-line speed. Just like every other ILB prospect in 2015, Perryman has "warts." The first player drafted at the position this year will be determined as much by fit and defensive scheme as talent.

However, Perryman's display of strength and (slightly) improved speed also didn't do anything to eliminate him from the conversation to be the first inside linebacker selected, especially if the first team to pull the trigger at that spot runs a 4-3 defense and is looking for a classic thumper to stick in the middle.

And in that regard, it's hard to view Wednesday as anything but a success.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.