New York Giants Have An Eye On These 5 Later Round Draft Prospects
By Neal Lynch
5. Luke Rhodes – LB, William & Mary Tribe
Height: 6 feet 2 inches | Weight: 243 pounds
Rhodes earned a grade of 4.89, which means he has less than a 50/50 chance of making an NFL roster. On his draft profile, Lance Zierlein added:
"“Big, athletic build, but plays with a lack of bend and marginal instincts for the middle. Rhodes does a decent job of handling himself in pass coverage, but will need to work on his hands and approach to the run game if he wants to make a team. His special teams play in preseason might be the key to giving him a shot.”"
NFL Media Senior Analyst Gil Brandt had this takeaway from Rhodes’ Pro Day workout:
"“Rhodes had a good positional workout and could be a priority free-agent pickup for a team following the NFL draft.”"
From DraftInsider.net’s Tony Pauline:
"“Linebacker Luke Rhodes tested well during pro day. Measuring 6014 and 236 pounds, Rhodes completed 29 reps on the bench, touched 35 inches in the vertical jump, 9-10 in the broad jump and timed 4.64 seconds in the 40. He spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.”"
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Draft analyst Chad Reuter listed Rhodes as a top senior prospect in the later rounds, noting:
"“Rhodes (6-2, 242) is the only player in the FCS to be selected to the Butkus Award watch list. He’s a two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association pick and team captain, not only racking up nearly 100 tackles in 2013 and 2014 but also flying into lead blockers to allow his teammates to make plays. While not an explosive athlete, Rhodes has enough speed to fill a gap, is agile enough to slip second-level blocks, and hustles to the sideline. As a special-teams ace and steady presence on defense, he’ll be a tough cut in training camp.”"
NFLDraftScout ranked Rhodes 16th out of 182 inside linebackers, projecting him to go in the 6th or 7th round.