Very good speed and quickness, ranges from sideline-to-sideline
Diagnoses and reads plays quickly, very smart linebacker
Does a nice job in pursuit, and has great closing speed
Terrific size for the position
Very aggressive, great read and react player, very good instincts
Very solid tackler, up front and in the open field
Great upper body strength
Fluid hips, and has the size and athleticism to matchup well in man coverage
Cons
Can sometimes get stonewalled at the line of scrimmage
Very little experience, skill as a blitzer
Needs to do a better job shedding blockers
Over aggressive at times and runs himself out of plays
Must improve gap control
Overall
Donald Butler really came out of nowhere to have a terrific senior season where he first started to turn heads, and then built off of that with a great combine and offseason. He has all the measurables, size, speed, strength, and athleticism, and put it all together last season. Also has a high football IQ, and great instincts, reads the play quickly, and immediately gets going to where he needs to be, plays very fast, even too fast sometimes. All his weaknesses are things that can be corrected at the next level with some good coaching, and experience. He doesn't always take the best angles to the ball, over pursues, and needs to learn some pass rushing moves. In the end, Donald Butler has everything you want out of an inside linebacker and would be attractive to any team, no matter the style of defense. He should get picked somewhere in the second round.
