NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Penn State Linebacker Dan Connor

When you play linebacker for Penn State, aka Linebacker U., comparisons with other players are often an inevitability. But for Dan Connor at Penn State, the comparison was always between him and his linebacker mate Paul Posluszny.

Both were similar hard-nosed players who came from in-state and had lofty expectations to live up to. Every fan seemed to have an opinion about which player was better. Now that both have seen their careers come to a close, we still don't know who's better. We do know that Posluszny had a pretty good rookie year for the Buffalo Bills until he got hurt, however, and most scouts believe that Connor could have a similar impact this year after seeing him at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis.

Connor doesn't have elite speed or great change-of-direction skills, but he makes up for those shortcomings with his instincts. He seems to diagnose exactly what play the opposing team is running with incredible speed and then is almost always in position to make the play. He's also strong enough to take on most blockers at the point-of-attack, allowing him to be a thorn in the side of the opposing team's running game.

The only question about Connor that teams want answered is whether or not he is quick enough to play the strongside outside linebacker position. Connor does show good instincts in pass coverage to disrupt shorter routes but probably is too slow to turn and run with the more athletic tight ends in the NFL.

Overall, however, Connor is a polished player who can help a team immediately in the middle or the strongside with a little help. He should be off the board in the mid-to-late first round. Whether or not he ends up better than Posluszny is still anyone's guess, however.