Dominique Alexander, LB, Oklahoma scouting report
2016 NFL Draft: Scouting report for Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Dominique Alexander, who finished his junior season with 103 tackles and 7 TFL.
Dominique Alexander probably didn’t have to leave school early, but there’ll be nothing wrong with him getting a jump on the NFL vs. going back to college.
We know what he is, and he’s a good football player.
Alexander finished his junior season with 103 tackles and seven tackles for loss to go along with a pair of pass breakups. The numbers don’t stand out as much as you’d like for a guy who left school early, but the tape shows what kind of player an NFL team is going to be getting.
At A Glance
Physically and athletically, we need to see Alexander add some mass, but that shouldn’t be tough. Whatever NFL team gets him should look to put 5-7 pounds on him so he doesn’t lose quickness, but is able to be more physical in the running game.
Translating to the NFL
He doesn’t jump off the page as an inside linebacker, which is typically a much bigger, more physical player. I saw a guy that could play weakside linebacker on tape, and I think he will flourish in that role.
His productivity is indicative of his willingness to be the aggressor, to seek out contact and to have his hands in every play. That’s the type of player I would be looking for as a linebacker. Danny Trevathan of the Denver Broncos made a great living out of being a head-hunter early in his career, and learning how to be one of the best linebackers in the league in coverage to make himself available on all three downs.
If not for his knee issues, Trevathan would have likely put together one of the most productive three-year periods of any linebacker in the league over that timeframe, and I think Alexander compares incredibly favorably to him. He does a good job in coverage as well as around the line of scrimmage, but the big knocks against him are his lack of ‘elite’ athleticism and his size/ability to take on blocks.
That is something to worry about if you’re looking for a guy to play a traditional ILB role, and I don’t think we need to pigeon-hole Alexander into that position. He’s got the talent and speed to be a rangy WLB in a 4-3 or play a similar role to what Trevathan did in a 3-4 alignment as an ILB.
Alexander doesn’t physically overwhelm you, but he has all the tools to be a productive linebacker in today’s NFL with his willingness to get scrappy and be part of the activity, no matter his role as an attacker or playing in coverage. His fire and competitiveness won’t be underrated among coaches and scouts, and no matter when he gets drafted, he has a chance to be a starter someday.