Junior Colson NFL Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report
Michigan Linebacker Junior Colson - 2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report and Prospect Profile
Title: Junior Colson
School: Michigan
Year: Junior
Position: Linebacker
Measurables: 6’2”, 238 lbs. ARM: 32 1/2” HAND: 9 3/8”
Combine: DNP
Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com
General Info:
Junior Colson’s journey to the NFL is complex and heartwarming. Born in Haiti, Colson moved to Tennessee when he was 9 years old with his adoptive parents. An omen of things to come, Colson has remarked that first thing he saw upon touching down at the airport were Michigan hats, donned by his adoptive family. He played high school football at Ravenwood High in Brentwood, Tennessee where he played with fellow 2023 Draft Prospect Graham Barton. A stellar career saw him ranked as a 4-star composite prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, one of the top linebackers, and just outside of the top 100 prospects nationally. Although he had plenty of options, the choice was easy for Junior Colson—he was to be a Wolverine.
There was no developmental period for Colson, who began taking significant snaps on Michigan’s defense as a true freshman. In 14 appearances (seven starts), he recorded 61 tackles, a sack, and a trio of pass-breakups. During and after the season, Colson received several awards, from the team, conference, and from news outlets. Following a stellar game against Indiana he was named Defensive Player of the Week and received several “All-Freshman” team sports. He also shared Michigan’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Growth is one of the most important things you hope to see from a college football player after their Freshman season, and Colson certainly did just that. His 2022 Sophomore season was genuinely stellar. Colson’s 101 tackles led the team, and coupled with a handful of TFLs and a pair of sacks, were enough for the Big-Ten coaches to name him a second team conference player. He was named DPOW four times over the course of the season, with a couple of double digit tackle weeks.
The 2023 season was very similar to 2022 statistically for Colson. In 15 starts, the Junior ‘backer had 95 tackles (2 TFLs), a few hurries, and a few pass breakups. After the season, he was once again a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He was also named DPOW five times over the course of the season. Colson saved the best for last, though—in the final three games of the season, Colson recorded 24 total tackles and both of his pass breakups as Michigan marched through the Big Ten championship game and the CFP playoffs en route to a national championship.
After the season, Colson (like many of the champion Wolverines) declared for the 2024 NFL draft. Although invited to the Combine, he did not do any drills, which makes his Pro Day on March 22nd very important.
Positional Skills:
Strengths
Though Colson did not run measurables at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, his film shows that he has the type of speed, explosiveness, and size that teams look for in the modern NFL. Colson is an impressive athlete, and should really shine at his Pro Day on the 22nd.
One of the better coverage LBs in this class—maybe even the best. Although the raw numbers don’t blow you away, Colson has good instincts, keeping his eyes on the QB and sensing when people are in his zone. He’s solid in man coverage too, with the speed and smarts to stick with TEs and RBs.
Really experienced starter on a high level defense.
Very good at diagnosing and reacting to play action.
Reliable tackler—guys to tend to get away from him once he’s got a grip on them.
Weaknesses:
Maybe a little *too* patient. Colson can be slow to break downhill on run plays, so he doesn’t tend to make big tackles for a loss. There’s a few shades of Blake Martinez making 140 tackles four yards past the line of scrimmage that NFL teams will want to train out of him.
Colson can get tied up in blocks. He doesn’t do a great job disengaging from blocks. Coupled with a still developing understanding of offensive blocking schemes, he can wind up out of position and pretty effectively removed from a play.
Tendency to take shallow angles which can cause him to get beat around the corner by faster players.
Fit with the Packers:
Gute likes winners. In theory, every NFL GM likes winners—but we have seen in the past that the Packers tend to prefer players with some championship or bowl pedigree in the early rounds of the NFL draft. Look at the first two rounds of Gute’s last three drafts:
* Three Georgia players coming off of National Championship victories (Stokes, Walker, Wyatt)
* One Ohio State player coming off of National Championship loss (Myers)
* One North Dakota State player coming off of a FCS Championship victory (Watson)
* One Iowa player coming off of a bowl victory and a team that had regularly been top 25 during his tenure (Van Ness)
* One Oregon State player coming off of a bowl victory and the teams best season in forever (Musgrave).
The only player that sticks out is Jayden Reed, with the 2023 Michigan State Spartans team struggling—but even then, Michigan State had finished the prior season ranked 9th on the AP Poll. Gute. Likes. Winners. We’ve seen the Packers take athletic linebackers coming off of a National Championship earlier than expected before. With a need for bodies that can see significant snaps at LB next to Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, Colson is a darkhorse first round pick for the Packers. Although this LB class is not particularly strong overall, Colson stands out and I expect him to be a late riser in the draft process. Keep an eye on this one.
VIDEO:
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Comments (33)
Bitternotsour
March 23, 2024 at 09:07 am
with the 25th pick of the first round, the Green Bay Packers select #25...
10ve 💚
March 23, 2024 at 10:15 am
I would say that there is a high chance that you are right! 😁
SicSemperTyrannis
March 26, 2024 at 07:08 pm
In that montage he's EVERYWHERE!
LLCHESTY
March 23, 2024 at 10:11 am
Colson didn't test at Michigan's pro day yesterday due to injury. Played part of the season last year with casts on both hands and his missed tackle rate was still almost 3 times better than Cooper's.
pantz_bURp
March 23, 2024 at 10:19 am
Thanks Tristan for the very good detail on Junior. I feel like I been through a Colsonoscopy.
Pantz doing the Safety Dance
LLCHESTY
March 23, 2024 at 11:17 am
You the little guy in the video?
https://youtu.be/QMGodM0zm8k?si=pdfx6eTwxVk59s15
gsd3
March 23, 2024 at 10:34 am
Would be happy to see a warrior like Colson on the team. Sound tackler. A group of Walker, Colson, and Payton Wilson would be wicked.
DoubleJ
March 25, 2024 at 07:55 am
To do that you would probably have to use both R2 picks in this draft on off ball LB. Not to mention you only play base with 3 LBs on the field at the same time something like 20-25% of downs. Most of the time you are playing with 2 LBs so using 2 R2s to have one be a bit player doesn't make much sense.
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 10:46 am
Finally a draft report on a player that just makes sense for the Packers. Colson is just an obvious better choice @ LB for the Packers. With as much as I have promoted Colson to be GBs pick @ LB, I am embarrassed that I did not realize there was such a stark difference in the tackling numbers between Colson and Cooper. Their size and speed is very comparable. The missed tackle rate is not comparable at all. And Colson is a noticeably better coverage LB too.
The first thing I noticed in the picture of Colson you showed was that he had no clubs on his hands. That's why no INTs this year. Michigan is on TV every week somewhere and they get a lot of attention on the Big 10 Network, so we see Colson a lot. He does not ever disappoint and should be an easy choice for GB in the draft.
Cooper will be picked first because of the Hype on him, hopefully we are not dumb enough to waste #25 or #41 on him. Wilson, even with the surgeries will be picked next because he is the fastest and has the best stats of the top 5 LBs. That sets us up to pick Colson @ #58 and have a 10-year playmaker on our team and having the sideline-to-sideline LB we have needed forever.
I still like Trevin Wallace as a "fallback" LB, he has as much talent and potential as any LB in this draft. He also outperformed Cooper @ the Combine. Higher RAS.
My sleeper later round LB is Nathaniel Watson-Miss State. Same size as Colson, same number of tackles as Wilson. He was a very good, productive LB on a team with way less talent than Texas or Michigan.
Look up another sleeper CB from the same team as Wallace. DeCamerrion Richardson-6'2 190 ran low 4.3s and RAS 9.68. A late round steal.
Turophile
March 24, 2024 at 06:43 pm
Colson is the middle linebacker that makes a ton of sense for the Packers. Put Walker at weakside, let Colson play the Mike position and watch him go to work. This dude can teach others how you should tackle. In the (many) mocks I've done on different sites Colson is usually there at #41 and usually gone at #58.
As for Nathaniel Watson - golfpacker1 is looking at the same guys I am. He is a 99% rated tackler on Draft Buzz - the best at his position (Colson is ranked 97%). Cooper is rated at 76%.
Wilson is a 91%, which would be great, if there wasn't so much worry over his injury history.
splitpea1
March 23, 2024 at 11:00 am
The Packers have already met with Cooper multiple times, but at this point Colson seems to be the better value...guys that tackle reliably and can haul them down in the open field like that are more than welcome on our team.
WD
March 23, 2024 at 11:38 am
No show at combine plus no show at pro day. If this is not a red flag I do not know what is. He will surely fall and would consider him as our second ILB perhaps in rounds 4-5. Moreover do we want our starting ILB to be a better player or a better value?
Idaho Cheese
March 23, 2024 at 04:59 pm
You can tell how fast this guy plays on the tape tho.
Turophile
March 23, 2024 at 12:03 pm
Pick 25 - no.
Pick 41 - maybe.
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 12:04 pm
WD, the numbers and video show Colson is a better LB and a better value than Cooper. So I drafted Colson:
25. Jackson Powers-Johnson-OC Oregon
41. Jordan Morgan-OT Arizona
traded #58 & #255 to Falcons for #61, #164, & #201
61. Junior Colson-LB Michigan
89. Calen Bullock-S USC-Got a ballhawk here and a thumper late
91. Bucky Irving-RB Oregon
126. Khyree Jackson-CB Oregon
164. Cedric Johnson-EDGE Ole Miss
169. Isaiah Davis-RB South Dakota State
201. Brennan Jackson-EDGE Washington State-wanted K Boyd-DT-UNI but he went @ #197
202. DeCamerion Richardson-CB Mississippi State-Sleeper-could be Top 10 CB-80 tackles in 2023
219. Nathaniel Watson-LB Mississippi State
220. Frank Crum-OT Wyoming
245. Tyler Owens-S Texas Tech-runs low 4.3s @ 6'2 220lbs
stockholder
March 23, 2024 at 01:53 pm
I think this is your best draft yet.
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 03:19 pm
If it was only so easy, huh Stock.
Alberta_Packer
March 23, 2024 at 04:10 pm
Finally a Jordan Morgan appearance on a Packers mock draft! Well done gp1. He's in my top 3 (realistic) pick - (4 if I include JPJ) - as an O lineman who meets the Packers criteria.
However, there is still the matter of Bucky Irving at 91...
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 05:16 pm
I just love the way Irving makes people miss and gets tough yards after contact. But honestly, there are 8 or 9 that do the same thing, run and catch really well, that would upgrade the Packers.
I always liked Morgan, but if Sua is there I think he is better and younger. Either would work.
jannesbjornson
March 23, 2024 at 06:30 pm
If they want Morgan, they would have to bag him at #25. He will not get past the 49rs, or K.C. they want LTs.
golfpacker1
March 24, 2024 at 10:37 am
OK JJ. Then we trade back and take their first round pick, their 2nd rounder and another late pick, move down and take Sua, Barton, Beebe, or maybe Powers Johnston. That would be an absolute perfect scenario for GB. And it could easily happen because those teams believe they are 1 or 2 players away from a Super Bowl. They don't need as much as we do.
Alberta_Packer
March 23, 2024 at 07:23 pm
I also loved Irving's clips. Then I saw his measurables and thought that he lacked the height, weight and pass pro to be a 3-down back - whom Gutie will probably be looking for.
Who Gutie drafts for the O-line is fascinating. I've narrowed it down to 16 prospects - which fit within the usual Packers parameters. From the top down they are: Fautanu, Morgan, Barton (with JPJ as outlier because he's just so special). Then Blake Fisher, Dominic Puni, Zak Zinter, Julian Pearl, Brandon Coleman. Karsen Barnhart, Roger Rosengarten, Tanor Bortilini, Tylan Grable, Javon Foster, Mason Mccormick, Garrett Greenfield and Jalen Sundell.
golfpacker1
March 24, 2024 at 10:42 am
Yeah Alberta, Irving isn't 6'1 and 220, but he consistently makes people miss badly, and his yards after contact is as good as anyone in this draft. And I think this is a really good group of RBs this year. Those highlights confirm he would be a great pick for us.
Bucky is very close stature wise to Jones, a little lighter @ 190 lbs, but he isn't going to get smaller in GB either.
Also add Kiran Amegadjie, Frank Crum, & Walter Rouse to your list
Alberta_Packer
March 24, 2024 at 01:52 pm
Both Amegadije and Rouse do fit within the Packers physical parameters and could very well be drafted by the Packers. My list was also based on a collection of scouting reports that highlighted the 16 players that I mentioned. As for Crum - typically the Packers do not draft 6'8" O lineman - as their height limit seems to be 6'6". However, they will sign taller OTs as UDFAs.
SicSemperTyrannis
March 26, 2024 at 07:23 pm
I think #33 has been substantially lighter than his listed weight of #208. Whether he was ever #190 on game day I'm not sure, but I don't see it as a deal breaker.
SicSemperTyrannis
March 26, 2024 at 07:20 pm
Al, that's 17. It's a shame there are so few to pick from :)
SicSemperTyrannis
March 26, 2024 at 07:16 pm
Golf, I almost like that one. Third O lineman not until #220 is the only problem I have with it, but outstanding otherwise :)
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 01:02 pm
I could see the Packers taking a LB now @ #41 because of the poor combine and pro days that the top 2 Safeties, Tyler Nubin and Kam Kinchens had. Both could very well be available @ #58, so it's possible this has flipped the 2 position groups and where GB would be picking them. And it would guarantee GB gets the LB they want. Junior Colson is a more complete LB than Edggerin Cooper. Colson has had a more consistent and productive college career as well. Their measurements and speed are so close, the better tackle numbers favor Colson. The missed tackle rate gives Colson the Edge.
Cooper is flashier, and makes more splash plays, but also makes more bad plays. A pro comparison is Devin White, who I wanted the Packers to take a chance on, but so many were against on here.
That said @ #41 we might have to choose between them and either way it will be a win-win for the Pack.
stockholder
March 23, 2024 at 02:37 pm
I'd still take Nubin.
Most of the guys that are suppose
to go @25, have injuries.
So you know they're not a 100%.
NFL draft Scout has the updates
with injuries and pro days.
Both safeties did run 4.55.
Their slow times are 4.67.
But Nubin bench pressed a 10.
And if you're injured you don't lift.
Colson was hurt.
Still I'm taking Wilson. @Lb
SicSemperTyrannis
March 26, 2024 at 07:26 pm
Another consideration is that aside from OLBs on our roster that I recognize, there are TEN LBs! How many of those are OLBs or "ST only" I don't know, but this probably removes the panic from the need to draft an ILB.
golfpacker1
March 23, 2024 at 03:21 pm
I think we are going to have a great draft. But it would be great to just kill those first 5 picks.
If not for the surgeries, Wilson would have been a clear #1 LB and a first round pick. That's Devin White or Patrick Queen speed @ 3 inches taller and 10lbs heavier.
Alberta_Packer
March 23, 2024 at 04:35 pm
Perhaps Colson is the best value choice - with all of the other top LBs having some sort of noticeable flaw(s):
1. Cooper - who likes to go around blockers not through. It seemed to work in College but the NFL?
2. Wilson - compromised body parts - knees and shoulder.
3. Trotter Jr. - short of height and short of arms (which can hinder tackling). Plus has limited outside range - which in a 4-2 set is a liability.
golfpacker1
March 26, 2024 at 11:00 am
Colson is clearly the safest, most complete LB choice @ LB the Packers could make. Cooper has shown the most explosive potential of all the LBs, but he is far from the most consistent. If not for the injuries/surgeries, Wilson would be the choice. His stats were very impressive, and he deserved to win college LB of the year.
Since GB wasted the FA Linebacker class, it's beyond huge that we get a solid, starting caliber LB early in the draft. Pick # 41 absolutely has to be spent on LB so we get the player we want. #25 is way to early and #58 could be too late. We can't afford to take a chance by waiting.
A sleeper LB for depth and potential is Nathaniel Watson-Mississippi State. He is a complete LB and has the tools to be a starter too. Check him out.
Also still on the table is a trade for some young LB we had interest in. Chad Muma-Jaguars? He was a great college guy who hasn't won a job yet, but he would be cheap. Or a practice squad player like Brandon Smith-Washington, who was the 3rd best LB in the 2022 draft would be an option.