Miami Hurricanes LBs were smart to return for Senior seasons to improve draft stock

Miami Hurricanes three-year starting linebacker Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney were smart to return for their Senior seasons to improve their draft stock based on one NFL Executive’s assessment.

In an article published in the Miami Herald by Barry Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, Miami Hurricanes Senior LBs Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney were smart to return for their Senior seasons based on their draft projections.

An NFL Executive who denigrated the Miami Hurricanes offense said that Quarterman would likely have been picked in the fourth round and Pinckney in the fifth had they entered the 2019 NFL Draft.

Jackson did not relay an assessment of the third member of the trio who are entering their fourth year as a unit starting at LB, Zach McCloud. None of the players on the 2019 Miami Hurricanes roster are expected to be first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

That would make three straight years for Miami without a first-round pick. Tight end David Njoku was the last Hurricanes player to be selected in the first round when he went he went 29th overall to the Cleveland Browns in 2017.

The most prominent media outlet to have position rankings for the 2020 NFL Draft is Walter Football. Quarterman is listed as the ninth-best inside linebacker projected in next year’s draft. Three Miami linebackers are surprisingly listed among the top 16 outside linebackers for 2020.

According to Walter Football, Quarterman is projected by WF to be a third-round pick the NFL Draft in 2020. He has 2019 to try and improve that. Quarterman’s measurables are  6-1, 240 pounds with a Projected 40 time of  4.68.

Neither Quarterman nor Pinckney are the top outside linebacker from Miami projected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Walter Football has Miami Junior defensive end Jonathan Garvin is ranked as the sixth-best outside linebacker in the 2020 draft.

Garvin will be eligible for the 2020 draft after completing his Junior season this fall. If he has anywhere close to the kind of season he had in 2019 it would be tough to see him returning for his Senior year. Garvin led Miami defensive linemen with 60 tackles and added 17.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 2018.

Garvin is 13th in the 40-yard dash of the 16 players listed at outside linebacker projected for 2020. He is listed at  6-4, 235 pounds with a Projected 40 Time of 4.72 seconds and Projected to be selected in the second or third round of the draft. At his current weight, Garvin seems more suited for LB in the NFL than DE.

Pinckney is projected as the ninth-best outside linebacker for 2020. Walter Football lists his measurables at 6-1, 220 pounds with a Projected 40 Time of 4.69 seconds and Projected Round (2020): of the fourth through sixth. That puts him about the same as where he was projected for 2019.

Quarterman is a playmaker. He has finished second on Miami in tackles in each of the last two seasons. Garvin should be Miami’s most disruptive force up front in 2019. Getting Trevon Hill through the transfer portal and Greg Rousseau healthy will help Garvin a lot.

He will be the primary focus with Joe Jackson leaving a year early for the NFL. Teams will not be able to constantly double team him with Rousseau and Hill on the other side. Pinckney should be the Hurricanes third best defender in 2019 behind Quarterman and Garvin.

Quarterman, Pinckney and Garvin are the three leading returning tacklers for Miami in 2019. They should be the leaders of the Hurricanes defense and their three best players. The Miami defense will likely be counted on early as Dan Enos’ new offense gets worked out.