Wisconsin Badgers Draft Profile: LB Jack Sanborn

MADISON, Wis. – There’s no better player to showcase what Wisconsin football is all about than Jack Sanborn.

Exiting high school as a solid four-star prospect from Rivals.com, Sanborn began contributing as a true freshman and developed as a three-year starter at inside linebacker, helping lead one of the stingiest defenses in the country. He did all this despite not being the flashiest player, but the Lake Zurich, Illinois, native was certainly one of the more consistent linebackers to play for the Badgers in the last few decades.

BadgerBlitz takes a closer look at Ferguson’s NFL profile.

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At the NFL Scouting Combine, Sanborn ran a 4.73 40-yard dash (19th of 23), 20 reps on the bench (seventh of seven), 34-5-inch vertical jump (tied-17th of 26), and 9-6 on the broad jump (tied-24th of 26). At UW’s Pro Day, Sanborn ran 4.05 in the 20-yard shuttle and 6.81 in the three-cone drill. Just like fellow inside linebacker Leo Chenal, both of those results would have put him as the top linebacker at the Combine.

At the Combine, Sanborn measured 6-2 and 234 pounds with 31 ½ arms and 9 5/8th hands.

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard put a lot on Sanborn’s plate because he knew the linebacker was capable of the responsibility.

In terms of run defense, Sanborn has put up solid career tackling numbers because he does a lot of things well. He possesses quick feet to shift across the line of scrimmage, giving him above-average lateral movement, and is slippery enough to get through traffic at the line of scrimmage and fight off blockers. He is an effective, strong, technically-sound tackler who finishes plays, evidence by his 228 career tackles and twice leading the program in tackles in a season. There’s little to complain about with Sanborn’s run defense, which had a high grade of 84.3 and 84.8 by Pro Football Focus in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Against the pass, Sanborn was positioned in a blitz-heavy role as opposed to coverage and took advantage of it because of his vision, patience, and intelligence. He finished his career with 11.5 sacks, showing solid football intelligence and situational awareness of when and how to attack an opponent’s backfield.

While it gets lost playing next to ultra-competitive inside linebacker Leo Chenal, Sanborn is a competitor in his own right in addition to his position versatility and ability to penetrate the line of scrimmage. Throw in his football bloodlines (his late father, Paul, was an offensive lineman for Oregon from 1980-82), Sanborn has the skills and ability to be a starting NFL linebacker.

Here are some of the strengths NFL.com listed for Sanborn.

· Adequate toughness and strength to play inside.

· Reads and pursues with good pad level.

· Plays with instant run-scheme recognition.

· Can beat the runner to designed run lanes.

· Steps in and constricts the gap when possible.

· Connects hands and feet to rid himself of blocker.

· Thud power to stand and stop the runner.

· Toggles between spot dropper and blitzer on third downs.

Comparing him to other draft-eligible Mike linebackers, Sanborn isn’t going to jump off the page with his speed or athleticism. His 40-yard dash time was fifth-slowest among linebackers at the Combine, and scouts point to his lack of quickness and lack of twitch as a reason why Sanborn appears clunky as he transitions into a higher gear.

Sanborn’s 20 reps at the Combine were the lowest among linebackers, leading to concern that he’ll struggle against faster running backs and bigger tight ends in the professional level. Last season, Sanborn was dropped into coverage 56.2 percent of the time but gave up a completion 72.7 percent of the time, including 81 yards after the catch. While he flashed in zone coverage, Sanborn didn’t play much man coverage. His pass coverage grade is slightly above average the last two seasons, 20 games that resulted in only one interception with a three-yard return.

Here are some of the weaknesses for Sanborn by NFL.com.

· Marginal slide quickness from tackle to tackle.

· False keys can pull him out of position.

· Field influence diminishes outside the box.

· Sluggish when forced to change direction.

· Lacks the reactive athleticism to mirror and tackle slashers.

· Rush pressures primarily generated by scheme.

A classic Wisconsin prospect, Sanborn has a resume that should earn him a draft selection and an opportunity to compete as a backup linebacker, special teams contributor, and a spot starter early in his career. Not surprisingly, a lot of teams need those kinds of players, and a reason why Sanborn – projected as a late-round draft pick – has been slotted to a number of different teams.

Most mock drafts on the web the last two months after Sanborn being drafted somewhere in the fifth round or later, although SBNation’s Los Angeles Rams site had Sanborn as a third-round pick to the defending champions in a mock draft last week.

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