NFL Draft Profile: Jack Sanborn, Linebacker, Wisconsin Badgers

NFL draft profile scouting report for Wisconsin linebacker, Jack Sanborn

---

#57
Pos: LB
Ht: 6015
Wt: 234
Hand: 0958
Arm: 3048
Wing: 7468
40: N/A
Bench: 20
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: N/A
Vert: 34.5
Broad: 0906
DOB: 7/29/00
Eligible: 2022
Deer Park, IL
Lake Zurich High School

Jack Sanborn
Wisconsin Badgers

---

Pros:

Pun: Jack Sanborn is an old-school LB prospect with intriguing instincts that allow him to always be near the ball. When defending the run, Sanborn instinctually flows to the direction of the ball and shows quick processing skills to read offensive linemen keys and the ball carriers through traffic. Furthermore, his patience and discipline within his run fits allows Sanborn to position himself well versus runs between the tackles. At the point of attack, Sanborn has much improved tackling technique from his 2019 season. He targets low, wraps up and drives through the ball carrier to bring them down upon impact. Furthermore, Sanborn has moments of great stacking and shedding due to play strength and technique - getting low, shooting inside hands and disengaging by pulling cloth. He’s a highly competitive player who has a non-stop motor, as evidenced by consistently joining teammates on gang tackles and chasing down plays from the backside. In the passing game, Sanborn is often used as a blitzer, where his physical toughness, feisty passion and good snap-timing shine through. In addition, Sanborn’s instincts in zone coverage puts him in the general vicinity of receivers, allowing him to capitalize on mistakes to the tune of four INTs in 21 games.

Cons:

Pun: Sanborn is functional in many aspects of the game; however, his inferior athleticism hurts his ability to finish plays in college and will certainly be more detrimental at the NFL level. Sanborn experiences serious struggles when pursuing outside zone runs and shows little effectiveness to gain playside leverage vs an offensive lineman climbing to the 2nd level due to poor foot speed. While his tackling technique is good when Sanborn is in near position, he’s far too often caught a yard or two away from the ball carrier due to severely lacking change of direction ability. Sanborn looks stuck in quicksand whenever he needs to make a cut while in pursuit and gets his ankles snapped too often. In coverage, while his instincts lead him near the play, he’s most often a few steps away from discouraging a throw due to poor spatial awareness when a receiver gets behind his zone. He needs to display better route combination recognition if he’s ever going to get legitimate snaps in the increasingly pass-heavy league. Sanborn should also not be trusted in man coverage on tight ends or running backs as his hips are far from fluid and he gives up leverage advantages too easily.

Summary:

Pun: Old-school LB who’s instincts, processing and discipline put him near the ball on runs between the tackles and also shows good stack+shed technique impose his physicality on offenses. Will likely be a two-down MIKE or SAM due to inferior athleticism and poor spatial awareness in zone+man coverage. Has a chance to be a solid backup due to his nose for the ball but will need to be a consistent special teams stud to earn a long career in the NFL.

Background:

Jack Sanborn was raised in Lake Zurich, IL and father Paul Sanborn played college football at Oregon from 1980-1982. Jack attended Lake Zurich High School where he finished his three-year varsity career with 296 tackles and 13 sacks while leading Lake Zurich to a 13-1 record as a Senior and the Class 7A State Championship game. After high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 4-Star recruit, the 337th-best recruit nationally, the 17th-ranked linebacker recruit in the country and the 4th recruit in the state of Illinois. Sanborn committed to Wisconsin, in 2018 he appeared in 11 games with a minimal role, tallying 7 total tackles and earning his first letter. In 2019, Sanborn earned his second letter and the starting role for all 14 games where he led the team with 80 total tackles, 9 TFLs and 5.5 sacks and tied the lead for 3 interceptions and 3 pass breakups. In 2020, Sanborn continued his high level of play, starting 7 games and tallying 52 total tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup. Sanborn was recognized for his efforts, being named to the Third-team All-America by Pro Football Focus, the Bednarik Award watch list, the Butkus Award watch list and the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list. Sanborn’s talent, work ethic and readiness was on display early in his career - in 2018 he was expecting to redshirt, but was thrust into the linebacker rotation due to injuries. While it was a bit of a shock to Sanborn, the Badgers coaches were confident in the youngster, Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard said, “I think from a talent and ability, maturity standpoint, we felt like he was going to be ready. We felt like he was going to have an opportunity to contribute. And then as the season started going, you knew that was going to be the case.” Furthermore, Leonhard praised Sanborn’s unique leadership qualities, “I think to me I see a confident kid that knows who he is. He understands when and how he has to lead. You do see him kind of hit other guys and reach outside of the linebacker room to help lead the team. Sanborn’s veteran teammates were also impressed with his sophomore leap - Badgers outside linebacker, Zack Baun, said, “He’s only a sophomore, but it seems like he’s a fifth-year senior. He’s just really taken on the role of a starter. Ever since last year, he knew what he needed to be this year, and he’s done a good job. And I think he’s going to be a really good player for us in the future.”

---

One-Liners

Pun: Old-school MIKE/SAM LB whose instincts, processing and discipline lead to sound run defense between the tackles but his inferior athleticism and poor spatial awareness make him a negative in coverage.

Grades

Current Player Value/Potential Player Value

Pun: 6.8 / 7.6