Linebackers are a wonky position group. Each linebacker group and even each linebacker can have different jobs and priorities. You can get some real tank-looking massive beefcakes that are there to stop runs and smoosh people into the center of the Earth, and you can get some dudes who are essentially a smaller defensive end to get a quick pass rush and sometimes drop into coverage.
The point is, that defenses use linebackers differently and the Battlehawks have a bunch of different guys with a bunch of different strengths and weaknesses, and I think I know how a few of them are going to be used.
Lakiem Williams
26 years old
5’ 11”
220 lbs
Williams was a little bit too small to make NFL rosters, so if he had a chance in that league it would’ve been as a special teams player. In the XFL he should make it as a pretty solid linebacker.
He plays much bigger than he is and he is STRONG strong. He repped a 500lb squat 5 times and has a lot of power when he hits. He plays very physically and whether it's a run or a pass, he’ll fly around to the ball.
Lakiem Williams doesn’t have a huge amount of experience, but he’s going to be a guy offensive coordinators are going to make sure they look at.
Mike Rose
22 years old
6’ 4”
250 lbs
Rose is a pretty good linebacker.
He can navigate the line of scrimmage and can hit his gaps to blow up run plays. When it comes to coverage, he’s agile enough to break into his zone and he has the speed and height to cover deep.
His issue is when he has to take a block head-on. He’s good at shedding blockers and getting around them, but when they do connect, he can get put in clamps and get shut down. He can also be a little aggressive and get fooled by motions and fakes.
Otherwise, he’ll be fun to watch and he’ll be another focal point on the defense.
Silas Kelly
24 years old
6’ 4”
230 lbs
Kelly is a run defender. He’s fast to get to his lane and he has a lot of power in his “smaller” body. I said it in the introduction for Cornerback Mike Hampton: the human body craves contact and Silas Kelly needs an intervention for his addiction to it.
He has trouble with coverage. He can be slow to drop into coverage and when he is in coverage he’s stiff. When he doesn’t find the ball he can get caught/lost in traffic in the middle of the field.
I think his best use is going to counter jumbo packages and shut down obvious run plays. Respect to all the jumbo guys out there.
Tre Watson Sr.
26 years old
6’ 2”
245 lbs
Watson was The Guy on defense when he played college ball at Maryland. Even when the team was getting blown out, he would still rack up tackles and pass breakups. Now, you can argue that those tackles and PBUs were against backups and I would listen to that argument, but it’s still good to have a guy that is mentally strong and won’t give up.
That’s a good personality to have in a locker room.
That being said, he did get released by a CFL team at one point because he has an “altercation” with a teammate and a coach, but there’s not a whole lot of information on that. Kinda weird.
The dude plays hard though, so that’s good.
Willie Harvey
27 years old
5’11”
230 lbs
Harvey has been on the Browns’ practice squad and active roster over the past 3 years, after he had a good training camp as a rookie. He stuck around until the start of the 2022 season. I’m always going to say it’s a good thing for a player to have interest from NFL teams and this is no different, but the guys he was behind on the depth chart were guys whose strengths were dropping into coverage. Dumb-brain deductive reasoning tells me that coverage would be his weakness.
Carson Wells
23 years old
6’ 3”
250 lbs
Wells isn’t going to be an explosive edge rusherand he’s not exactly the guy who’s going to consistently go full tilt into a blitz and get meaningful sacks and tackles for losses.
However, he is the kind of guy who’s going to turn a 2nd and 7 into a 3rd and 5. He’s able to cover tight ends and tackle well enough to stop running backs from getting to the second level.
You gotta love a reliable linebacker.
Travis Feeney
30 years old
6’ 4”
240 lbs
Feeney is going to be important because he’s got experience. He was drafted by the Steelers in 2016 and has played for 6 teams in 3 different leagues since then. Guys don’t play linebacker until the age of 30 if they don’t have value.
As far as how he plays? I don’t know his strengths and weaknesses, but last year he played for the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL and recorded 4.5 sacks (best on his team) and 40.5 tackles. That’s pretty good and productive.
You gotta root for any players that are as old as you are, just so you can walk away saying “Yeah man, I could still do it”.