Two Utah Linebackers Have High NFL Draft Potential, According to a PFF Analyst

As Utah prepares for the 2024 season, it's expected to have a handful of players with top billing in the 2025 NFL Draft. According to PFF analyst Trevor Sikkema, linebackers Lander Barton and Karene Reid can count themselves among the best talents in their position group entering the upcoming cycle.

While Reid is an undersized linebacker, Sikkema says he makes up for it with a "motor that's always running hot" and the ability to make "adjustments and calls in the middle of the defense" as a team captain and multiple-year starter.

Sikkema also said on the NFL Stock Exchange episode that Reid is an "instinctual player who has good vision, good awareness, and a very low missed tackle rate last year despite being sub-230 lbs."

Barton has more of a prototypical size for a linebacker in the modern NFL. After seven games last year, he suffered a season-ending lower-body injury but appears healthy entering the 2024 season.

Connor Rogers, Sikkema's co-host on the NFLSE, said Barton is a "hard hitter - when he makes contact with the ball-carrier, there is purpose behind his hitting."

Utah appears to be in a tremendous position, with Reid and Barton as linebackers entering the 2024 season. Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will put both players in consistent positions to succeed.

Tune into Utah's season opener on Thursday, August 29, at 7:00 PM MT as Reid and Barton lead the Utes' defense against Southern Utah.

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