Green Bay Packers Draft Countdown: Making the Case for LB Jake Ryan

With the Green Bay Packers likely to double dip at the inside linebacker position in the 2015 NFL draft, the mid- to late-round prospects in the class deserve as much attention as the top prospects—Eric Kendricks, Denzel Perryman and Stephone Anthony—have been getting.

Continuing with our series in looking at lesser-known prospects the Packers may target during the draft, this mid-round linebacker—a fifth-round projection—shares an important similarity with two other linebackers I've already broken down: Penn State's Mike Hull and Michigan State's Taiwan Jones. 

No, it's not the fact that Michigan's Jake Ryan is also a Big Ten linebacker that connects him to Hull and Jones. Rather, each made the move to inside linebacker last season and was on the whole more successful because of it. 

Height	Weight	40-yard Dash	60-yard Shuttle	2014 Stats
6'2"	240 lbs	4.65 seconds	11.65	112 T, 14 TFL, 2 SCK, 2 FF, 1 INT

Ryan has 41 starts under his belt for Michigan, including 12 starts in 2014 at inside linebacker. There, Ryan amassed a career-high 112 total tackles, as well as single-game career-highs in tackles (14 against Maryland), solo tackles (10 against Northwestern) and assists (10 against Maryland). He also earned first- team All-Big Ten honors. 

On the 2014 season as a whole, Ryan had 112 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception in 12 games. 

Just like Hull, football runs deep in Ryan's heart and soul. 

"A two-year captain and the 2014 Michigan team MVP, Ryan is a self-made prospect who eats, drinks and breathes football," CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler wrote. 

Per NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, Ryan spent hours at Michigan watching film and learning offensive tendencies with his defensive coordinator, and those qualities make him a coaching staff's dream, Dom Capers included. 

The 6'2", 240-pound prospect has good size for the position, in addition to initial burst after the snap. However, scouts worry about his athleticism otherwise; Zierlein notes that he has "very average lateral movement and footwork."

Still, Ryan is perhaps a more complete depth prospect than, say, Taiwan Jones, a thumper who excels against the run but comes off the field on third downs.

In addition to his ability to get downhill and make a play on the ball, Ryan is also solid in zone coverage, meaning he could be a depth option for the Packers at both the "Jack" and "Mike" linebacker spots. He has the speed to chase sideline to sideline.

Brugler praises Ryan's diagnosing skills, noting that Ryan "finds the quickest route from A-to-B with excellent pursuit skills, seeing plays develop before it happens with read/react awareness."

About Hull, I wrote that his enthusiasm could be contagious in the locker room, such that he could improve the overall effort of the defense without even being on the field. Ryan is the same kind of player.

After missing half of the 2013 season with a knee injury, he battled his way back in 2014 and started at a new position, putting in the work to excel and come away from the season with one of his best performances.  

"Ryan competes with an overachieving attitude and is the type of player who will outplay his draft slot," Brugler wrote. The Packers will have many options for depth at inside linebacker when they get to Round 4 or 5 in the draft, and I'm confident they'll take one. 

Will it be Hull, Jones or Ryan? All three could be excellent contributors, even if only situationally. Ryan, however, might have all the inherent skills to develop into a three-down player at the position and earn some snaps in sub-packages.