Nick Niemann NFL Draft 2021: Scouting Report for Los Angeles Chargers LB

HEIGHT: 6'3"

WEIGHT: 234

POSITIVES

—Good foot speed, and it looks the part in coverage.

—Quick to close downhill.

—Does not overrun plays and always seems to be tempoing the running back's near hip.

NEGATIVES

—Play strength is not great.

—Change of direction can be an issue.

—Has to play around a lot of blocks because he does not go through them. Is it a motor or confidence issue?

—Will not bring plus value as a blitzer.

2020 STATISTICS

77 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 1 FR

NOTES

—Son of Jay Niemann, an Iowa coach who has been a coordinator and/or head coach at six programs.

—Brother, Ben Niemann, also played at Iowa and started five games for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

—Made only 13 starts in his first four years at Iowa before becoming a full-time starter in 2020.

—Team captain in 2020.

OVERALL

Coming from a family of football players, Nick Niemann broke out in 2020 as he took over as a full-time starter for the first time in his college career. He is clearly a well-coached linebacker, which is unsurprising for a son of a Division I football coach, but he lacks some of the change-of-direction skills and versatility that NFL teams would want in a linebacker.

With that being said, the upside in his foot speed flashes on tape, and he should be able to make an NFL team on his special teams contributions alone.

GRADE: 6.71/10 (Round 6)

OVERALL RANK: 212/300

POSITION RANK: LB18

PRO COMPARISON: Alex Anzalone 

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda