College football is almost upon us, which means the 2017 NFL draft will be here before you know it. Those of us at Scouts Inc. -- Kevin Weidl, Steve Muench and myself -- spent the summer scouring tape and ranking the top players at each position from a draft perspective.
Below is our preseason evaluation of the best outside and inside linebackers in the 2017 draft, covering the players at each position with a grade of 60 or higher.
Note: Underclassmen are marked with asterisks.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
1. Tim Williams, Alabama
Grade: 92
Williams needs to work on his technique a bit, but he has a high ceiling as a pass-rusher. With excellent first-step quickness, he notched seven of his 10.5 sacks last season in his final seven games. Williams is effective setting up blockers with initial speed before quickly planting and generating speed-to-power to rock offensive linemen on their heels. He has yet to make a start in his first three seasons and is still raw particularly versus the run, but Williams possesses rare upside off the edge.