NFL Draft Profile: Darien Butler, Linebacker, Arizona State Sun Devils

NFL Draft profile scouting report for Arizona State ILB Darien Butler

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#20
Pos: ILB
Ht: 5103
Wt: 221
Hand: 938
Arm: 3018
Wing: 7468
40: 3018
DOB: 03/01/
Hometown: Harbor City, CA
High School: Narbonne

Darien Butler
Arizona State Sun Devils

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One Liner:

Butler changed his body coming into 2021 and changed his playstyle as a whole, becoming a substantially better athlete that was always around the ball.

Pros:

Butler vastly improved his athleticism this past season. His spacial awareness and ability to close rush lanes is adequate. He flows with the play and will scrape and explode into the ball carrier. His best traits come in coverage, where a blend of football IQ, fluidity, and moxy shine. He has numerous plays where he diagnoses the route combination, carries the primary read, and then triggers on the underneath route. Has soft hands and caught multiple interceptions in one game. Butler plays with his feet to the fire every play, roaming and striking wirth intention. Always around the ball.

Cons:

Butler is certainly smaller for the position as evident when linemen get on top him. He seldom sheds blocks due to his lack of length and overall physicality. While his aggression and motor is admirable, he needs to work on form tackling. Often outmanned at the point of attack, where you would like to see better use of his athleticism and leverage to make up for his size deficiencies. Miscalculates angles and will alow runners back inside or to break contain.

Summary:

Butler is a smaller linebacker best suited to play outside backer in an even front. He could provide help as a dime linebacker in many of the “Nascar” packages NFL teams implement. His tenacity, instincts, and fluidity will suit him well in the NFL but his lack of size and physicality will be attributes he has to overcome to make a long career.

Background:

Darien Butler is from Compton, California., where he played high school football for Narbonne. He was a consensus three-star recruit and the number 48 ranked inside linebacker by ESPN. Butler was thrown into the fire early, starting in all 13 games as true freshman in 2018 at Arizona State. His play earned him the first ever true sophomore captaincy of in ASU history in 2019. He backed it up earning the seventh highest-graded linebacker in the Pac-12 according to PFF while leading the team in tackles. After a covid shortened season, Butler was named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker in Novemeber of 2021 and a Pac-12 All-Confrence honoree.

Grade:

Round 6-7

Quotes:

“Butler trimmed down and became a faster, more impactful player with increased range and better coverage. The three-time captain is the heart and soul of his defense and flies around looking to make a hit.”

Lance Zierlein NFL.Com

“Quick to read run, showing good agility and speed to get past blockers and finish. Experienced in coverage and gets a strong jam on outside receivers.”

NFLDraftBuzz.com